


Never Tear Us Apart

by OlicityAddicted



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Felicity Being a Genius, Felicity and William bonding, Hurt Oliver, Kidnapping, Major Character Injury, Nightmares, Oliver in prison, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Paralysis, Protective Felicity, Protective Oliver, Smut, William being smart, hurt felicity, there are a lot of hugs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-05-30 08:13:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 51,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15092741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OlicityAddicted/pseuds/OlicityAddicted
Summary: Oliver has been in prison for four months, when Felicity disappears and William finds a letter in which she explains that she left him.But William is sure of one thing: she's in danger.John and Lyla are able to get Oliver out of jail for a few days, so he can help them to find out what happened to his wife.





	1. And I count my sins, and I close my eyes, and I take it in.

**Author's Note:**

> A couple of things you should know before starting this fic:  
> \- There will be a few flashbacks, to explain some things that happened "off screen".  
> \- In the comics at Slabside there are meta-humans, but in this story it's a normal prison where visitors are not allowed, just like no letters and no phone calls. Immediate emergency/danger is the only exception.
> 
> Title of the story is from the song "Never Tear Us Apart" by Bishop Briggs.  
> Title of this chapter is from "Bleeding Out" by Imagine Dragons.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver's time in prison.

It’s been four months.

Four months in this cell. Four months of just him and his reflection in the mirror. Four months without Felicity and William.

It felt so much longer than four months.

He was sitting on the bed in his cell, trying to ignore what the other prisoners were screaming at him.

“You put me in this hole!”

“I’m gonna kill you!”

“You’re a poor excuse of a human being!”

“You should have died on that boat!”

“Oh, the things I’m gonna do to your wife and son when I’ll break out of here!”

Oliver clenched his hands and tried not to punch the wall, again.

Usually he was able to ignore them, but when they said things about Felicity and William he just wanted to break the necks of those who dared to mention them.

In the four months he spent in here he tried his best to not get into fights.

In the yard he chose a bench where he could see everything and everyone around him, where no one could sneak up on him from behind without being heard or seen.

Some days no one would say a word to him or even look in his direction, some afraid of what he was able to do and some just didn’t care about him.

Other days, groups of inmates would surround him. Just like how it happened during the first few weeks of his staying in here.

→

_It was his first week. Day five._

_He was sitting on the bench, thinking about his family and fidgeting with the ring on his left hand -still surprised they let him keep it in here._

_He was aware of the group of eleven, no, twelve men approaching him from his left, but he didn’t react._

_One of them said “Look who we’ve got here!” with an annoying voice that reminded him of Malcolm Merlyn, of all people._

_The other inmates laughed. Idiots._

_Oliver saw a guard against the wall near his bench. This one reminded him of Damien Darhk, with his bleached blonde hair, -what was it with people in here that reminded him of villains he defeated?_

_The guard was laughing too. He was one of those guards that hated him, because years ago he killed a friend of them. A corrupted police officer who became a drug dealer. He killed him because he was on his father’s list._

_Oliver knew that if the prisoners were going to attack him it’d be a long time before the man gave the alarm._

_The men were surrounding him now and he still didn’t move. He also knew that he could take them all out easily in under a minute, they had no muscles -obviously no brain- and didn’t look like they knew how to fight. But Oliver didn’t want to make his situation worse and start a fight._

_When they didn’t get a reaction from him, Malcolm-guy yelled in his face “Hey! I’m talking to you!” And gave him a shove that barely moved him._

_Oliver slowly looked up at him, with what Felicity would call his ‘grrr face’, and saw the man’s smile falter, but he didn’t back down. Instead he looked at someone next to Oliver and nodded._

_He felt two pair of hands grab his arms and he sighed at their feeble attempt to restrain him._

_They were doing everything wrong. Their grips were weak, they were focused on their friend instead of him and their hands were sweaty. Gross._

_He didn’t see the third man though, the one who swiftly slid the ring off his finger and gave it to their boss._

_Oliver saw red._

_He stood up, the men holding him lost their balances -he didn’t even try to get away from them- and he towered over Malcolm-guy, who was smiling down at the ring. Sneering, was more of a fitting word._

_“Give. It. Back.” His voice sounded even more threatening than when he used the voice modulator under the hood._

_Malcolm-guy just laughed. “You really think you can take out all of us by yourself? It’s ten against one, you idiot! Even the Green Arrow can’t take out this many men without back up! We all know that you had sidekicks for that reason.” The others laughed too._

_Then the guy looked at him with a smirk on his face. “I also saw your wife on tv, when I was out. She’s hot! And I think about her every single night I spend in here… You know what I mean.” He even winked._

_Oliver was one step away from snapping this man’s neck._

_“I said. Give. It. Back. Before I make you regret ever being born.” If looks could kill, that idiot would be dead ten times over._

_But he didn’t back down. No, he laughed again, then became serious and whispered to Oliver “I know someone, in here, who can give me a permit for a visit. And I know a guy, out there, who is… Let’s just say that he feels lonely. I can convince him to come here, so I can tell him in person to go find you wife and child and to go fuc-”_

_His face met Oliver’s fist._

_He didn’t even realize what happened, just fell on the floor with a shocked expression._

_But Oliver wasn’t done, the beast was awake now and wanted to make him pay for even thinking something like that. So he kneeled over the guy and started to punch him until his face was completely covered in blood._

_The other guys started to hit Oliver. Well, it was more like pulling and pushing him around, no punches or kicks, not even a slap. They had no idea of what they were doing, so he basically threw them on the ground one by one and in less than thirty seconds they were running away scared._

_He turned around from his position and immediately found his ring, he never lost sight of that, not even when it fell on the ground._

_He carefully slid it on his finger, right where it belonged._

_Oliver looked at Malcolm-guy who was barely conscious. “Say a word about my family again and I won’t be so generous to let you walk away relatively unharmed.”_

_He was about to leave but he stopped and said to the guy “Oh, and they were eleven men, twelve with you, not ten like you said. Learn some math.”_

_Oliver walked away and he heard steps behind him. He knew it was the guard so he didn’t react when he hit him in the back of the head with the baton. He made a show of falling on his knees, even if it didn’t hurt that much._

_“Queen! Now you’re gonna get isolation for a week!” He wanted to tell him how he wasn’t wrong for acting like that, but thought better of it. The guard won’t listen to him anyway._

_So they put him in a cell that just had a toilet. No bed, no blankets and the only light was coming from the small opening on the door._

_But that was okay. He lived on an island like that. He could live without those things._

_The only thing he cared about was that he had his wedding ring back._

_→_

That was his first time in isolation. The next time was more for protection than punishment.

→

_Bigger guys fought him this time, and he was almost grateful when the guards put him in here._

_It was nine days after the first time, they allowed him to get out for only two days before he was back again._

_His situation reminded him of that time he fought against Diaz, when he lost because the scumbag cheated._

_He was sitting with his back against the wall, trying not to fall asleep. A doctor came in earlier to check on him, well, he just checked he didn’t have permanent brain damage after three men, almost bigger than Digg, smashed his head against the corner of a table when they were out in the yard._

_The doctor didn’t even bother to patch him up, so the cut above his left eyebrow was still bleeding. He was one of the many people who hated him in here._

_Oliver looked down at his left hand. It was bare._

_Apparently ‘Steal The Ring’ was the prisoners’ new favorite game to play._

_Lost in thought, he startled when the door opened. A light was turned on and he closed his eyes, blocking the pain it was causing him._

_When he opened them again a man was standing in front of him. A guard he never saw before. Perfect, with his luck he was going to get hurt even more._

_He closed his eyes wanting to ignore the man._

_“Hello, Mr. Queen.”_

_That made Oliver open his eyes again. No one called him Mr. Queen in here, just Queen or nicknames._

_He watched the man and noticed how confident he looked, like he owned the place. It made him think that he must be higher rank than all of the other guards._

_Oliver saw the man getting down on one knee beside him. He was holding a small tray with antiseptic and bandages on it._

_“How are you feeling?” He was about to clean the cut on his head but Oliver moved away. The man just nodded and put the tray on the floor next to him._

_Oliver eyed him suspiciously and the man sighed._

_“I understand your skepticism, Mr. Queen, but I need you to know that I’m not your enemy. I know what happened the first time they brought you in here. That guard didn’t have the right to do it without my consent. Needless to say, I fired him immediately after I found out what he did.”_

_That got Oliver’s attention. First it confirmed what he thought -this man was some kind of boss- and second he started to wonder why this man was helping him -kind of._

_“Thank you.” He said indicating the tray._

_The man just nodded and sat down next to Oliver. He didn’t know what to think, when he spoke again._

_“I’m sure this belongs to you.” He held out his hand, Oliver looked and saw his ring._

_With a trembling hand he took it and sighed in relief at the feel of it in his hand again._

_“Why are you doing this?” He couldn’t help but ask._

_The man smiled and started to explain. “Because you saved my daughter’s life years ago. She was kidnapped and the police couldn’t find her anywhere. Then she showed up at the precinct, saying The Hood saved her. I didn’t care that the vigilante killed a man.” Oliver looked down at that, ashamed of his old methods._

_“My daughter told me he didn’t really have a choice, it was either him or the kidnapper. And I’m glad that The Hood killed him, because if he didn’t he would have died and my daughter would have never come home. I’m also sure I would have killed that son of a bitch with my own hands if I ever found him.”_

_Oliver wasn’t sure how to feel about all of this. But then the man held out his hand and Oliver took it._

_“Thank you.” With tears in his eyes the man shook vigorously his hand. Oliver could just nod at that._

_He got up and said to Oliver “I’m gonna leave you in here for the next few days, so you can recover with no one bothering you. You should clean that cut, it already looks infected. I’ll also make sure that the guard out there will turn on this light when you’ll ask him to.”_

_He paused and then added “There are people in here who don’t care about your methods. They just see the good you did in the end.”_

_Oliver looked at him while he walked to the door, and saw that on the floor there was a change of clothes, a blanket and a pillow. He must have missed it when the man entered the room._

_“What’s your name?” He asked._

_Before closing the door the man answered._

_“Thomas.”_

_Oliver felt a pang in his heart at the name. Of course the only good man in this place was called Thomas._

_When the next day he came to visit again, Oliver decided to ask for a favor._

_“Can you get this to my wife?” He said, slowly taking off his wedding ring._

_“I know that as a prisoner I can’t send or receive letters and gifts, but I’m afraid that if I keep it they will just try to take it away from me over and over again, and I don’t want to lose it because of some idiot. I know she will keep it safe.”_

_Thomas didn’t hesitate and gently put it in his pocket._

_“Of course. I’m happy to help you somehow. How can I find her? I heard on the news that she and your son are under protective custody, rightly so.”_

_Oliver hesitated. “I need to make two phone calls.”_

_Thomas thought about it. “I can arrange one phone call. If I concede more the other prisoners, and some guards, might get suspicious if they find out. And even someone of my rank can get in trouble. They are strict about this.”_

_“Okay.” Oliver agreed, not wanting to put him in a difficult position._

_“Then let’s go.” Thomas said, waiting for Oliver to follow him._

_“Now?” At Oliver’s surprised question he just smiled._

_“Why not?”_

_So Oliver scrambled to his feet, suddenly excited that he was going to talk to someone who knew him and didn’t hate him._

_Thomas didn’t even bother with the handcuffs, they just walked side by side._

_They were standing in front of the phone and Oliver was ready to make the call, when Thomas stopped him._

_“Just one thing. About what that inmate said, those threats to your family… He can’t get that kind of permit for a visit. So don’t worry about your wife and son. He can't touch them.”_

_Oliver looked at him and immediately said “Oh, I know it.”_

_At Thomas’s confused face he continued. “His mouth was saying one thing, but his eyes said the opposite. I knew he was lying and was just trying to provoke me.”_

_Thomas smiled and then started to leave. “Remember. One call.”_

_When he was far enough that he had some privacy, Oliver picked up the phone._

_He wanted to call Felicity, wanted to hear her voice more than anything, ask about William and talk to him too. He wanted nothing more than doing just that._

_But he couldn’t make that call._

_It was too much of a risk, he didn’t know if someone listened to these phone calls or not and giving away their location could put them in even more danger. So he decided to call someone else._

_“Hello?” A strong voice answered._

_“Hi, John.” His voice was full of emotion at finally being able to talk to his friend._

_“Oliver?” He almost laughed at John’s surprised question._

_“Yeah, that’s me, brother.”_

_“Oh my God, I thought you weren’t allowed to make phone calls unless it was an emergency! Wait, did something happen?”_

_He sounded immediately worried, so Oliver was quick to reassure him._

_“No, everything’s fine, as fine as someone can be in prison, you know…”_

_“Yeah.” And he was sure John would understand. He’s been in a situation like this._

_“How are William and Felicity?” He had to ask. He couldn’t not ask that._

_He heard John sigh. “They’re as fine as they can be. They’re taking care of each other. They’re well protected and… They miss you, a lot. We all do.”_

_He felt like he could breathe a little easier after hearing those words. Glancing at Thomas, he reminded himself why he was calling._

_“Listen, John, I need a favor. There’s a man in here, a guard-”_

_“Do you want me and the team to beat him up?” He was quick to ask._

_“No!” He couldn’t get it out fast enough. He didn’t want Thomas to get hurt when he was just trying to help him._

_“Sorry, no. And as much as I appreciate the offer, we both know I can take care of one person myself.” He heard the other man chuckle. “No, he’s okay, he’s actually helping me with something, which is the reason why I’m calling you. You have to get him to Felicity.”_

_“What?! Oliver, are you sure you can trust this guy?” The concern clear in his voice._

_“Yes, I believe I can trust him.” Lowering his voice, so he was sure only John could hear him, he said “I also know that you will check him out and know everything about him and his past even before he’ll show up there.”_

_“You know me, I like to be ready. Especially if Felicity and William’s safety is involved.”_

_“Yeah. And I’m really grateful for that.”_

_He saw Thomas come closer to him and quietly say “I’m sorry, but I have to take you back.”_

_Oliver nodded. “John, I have to go now. Please, take care of them, alright?”_

_“You know that I will, Oliver. They’re part of my family too.” He said fondly. “Take care of yourself, man.”_

_“I will. Bye, John.” He hung up._

_“I’m sorry it was such a short call-” Thomas started to say, but Oliver interrupted him._

_“It was more than I could ever hope for, in my situation.”_

_They made their way back to the cell._

_“Thomas, you’ll have to call John Diggle, he was my bodyguard and that’s who I was on the phone with now. He’s gonna bring you to Felicity… Please tell her that I love her and William… And that I miss them a lot.”_

_“Consider it done.” He said when they arrived at the cell._

_They discussed about a few other details, John’s number, how to find him… And then Thomas left to deliver the package._

_→_

That’s how he found himself without a ring, after four months in prison.

It took Thomas almost a week to deliver it to Felicity. But then, with reassurances that it was in good hands and that his wife and son were okay and supporting each other, just like he knew they would, he could finally breathe again.

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Felicity and William bonding.
> 
> A/N: After reading fanfictions for years I got inspired an decided to write this story. What started as a chapter of 2.000 words it became a monster of 50.000!  
> I've already finished it, I just have to post it.  
> Also, english is not my first language, so if there are any mistakes feel free to inform me and I'll fix them.


	2. I had all and then most of you, some and now none of you.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and William deal with Oliver's absence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad to see that people are interested in this story... This is the chapter where everything begins and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!  
> Also, I'm going to update this story every 2/3 days.
> 
> This chapter's title is from "The Night We Met" by Lord Huron.

It’s been four months.

Four months of living in this safe house. Four months of just her and William. Four months without Oliver.

It felt so much longer than four months.

Right after Oliver’s speech they put him in an armored vehicle. A vehicle Felicity and John wanted to break him out of, but Oliver being Oliver told them not to.

And they listened to him.

So the FBI took him away, and John showed up to get her and William to the safe house that Lyla got for them.

Felicity didn’t remember the car drive, or when they were on the ARGUS private jet. The only thing she remembered was William’s hand holding hers.

When he first entered the interrogation room he couldn’t even look her in the eyes and for a moment she was afraid he hated her.

But then he held onto her so tightly it almost hurt and couldn’t let go. She was grateful for that, she didn’t know what she would’ve done if he didn’t want her near him.

John, Lyla and some ARGUS agents took them to a safe house, in a city she didn’t even want to know the name of. She’d find out how many miles separated them from Oliver and it would hurt even more.

The house reminded her of the one they lived in in Ivy Town and her heart ached every time she thought about it.

In those four months, Felicity and William found a routine.

In the morning, they'd pick a subject and Felicity would teach him what she knew, they’d make researches and study everything about it. She wanted to give William some kind of normalcy and home schooling seemed like the best thing to start with, and it was working.

In the afternoon they either played videogames or watched movies and TV shows.

One day William told her how Oliver would just shake his head and glare at them if he knew how much time they spent in front of a TV. That brought a smile to her face, the fact that William still wanted to talk about his dad and didn’t hate him now that he wasn’t here.

So after that, she tried to reduce their TV time, much to William’s dismay, and they started to take care of the house. Doing chores they avoided like the plague at the beginning, trying to learn how to cook - _trying_ being the keyword- and just spending time together talking and getting to know each other better.

John and Lyla called every time they couldn’t visit. To check on them and keep them updated on the city and on Diaz, who obviously disappeared from the face of the earth.

Thea and Roy also called every day. They wanted to come back and be there for Felicity and William, to support them and protect them, but she insisted that ARGUS was doing a great job in protecting them and their calls were enough for now. So they all agreed that they will visit in a couple of weeks.

Felicity was grateful to have friends like them, who wanted to be there to take care of her and William. It made the loss of Oliver less cruel.

Getting back to the present she found herself on the couch, with William’s head on her lap, her fingers running through his hair.

 _He needs a haircut,_ she thought.

He was almost asleep, his eyes blinking slowly at the TV but she knew he wasn’t really watching it. A glance at the clock on the wall let her know that it was well past 11 pm.

“Will.” She said it so softly she wasn’t sure he heard her. But he must have, because he turned and looked at her in a way that made her feel like she was his everything. She realized she must be now.

“Time to go to bed.” She kept her voice down, not wanting to destroy the moment.

He nodded slowly and they got up from the couch turning off the TV.

They went upstairs and William went to change in the bathroom while she got his bed ready. He entered his room and got under the covers, Felicity caressed his cheek and leaned down to press a kiss on his forehead.

“Goodnight, sweetheart.” She told him softly, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Felicity.” He said with a small smile.

She was hit by a wave of love, affection and protectiveness. No matter how many times he already said those words to her, they still took her by surprise.

With one last soft caress on his cheek and a smile of her own, she turned off the lights, the room illuminated only by the small nightlight William insisted on having.

She knew about the conversation he had with Oliver about his own nightlight, and after Oliver told him it was okay if he needed one, he didn’t hesitate and asked for it.

She also knew he needed it not only so the room won’t be pitch black, but because too much darkness already surrounded them by day.

So if a small nightlight made him sleep better, then she’d make sure it was on every single night.

She left the door open, just like he wanted it and hoped he won’t have nightmares tonight.

She still remembered their first night in this house.

→

_Felicity suddenly woke up and heard William screaming._

_She jumped out of bed, stopping shortly to take the taser John gave her for emergencies and briefly wondered why the ARGUS agents who patrolled the perimeter and those at the entrance didn’t stop an intruder._

_She opened the door to his room and looked immediately for the danger, just like Oliver taught her._

_But she soon realized that William was alone and in the middle of a nightmare, so she dropped the taser and rushed to him._

_She sat on the edge of the bed and gently shook his shoulder, he immediately opened his eyes and recoiled from her touch._

_Felicity felt her heart break, and she tried not to show the hurt on her face, but as soon as he recognized her he launched himself at her, hugging her tightly and sobbing uncontrollably._

_She heard someone behind her and William tensed in her arms._

_With the adrenaline still high, she turned around still hugging the trembling boy and tried to shield him the best she could._

_Two ARGUS agents were there, guns pointing to the floor but still alert. “Miss Smoak, we heard screaming. Is everything alright?”_

_She slightly relaxed and gave them a small nod. They took in the scene in front of them and realized what was going on, so they quietly left the room saying they were going to check the house, just in case._

_But Felicity didn’t hear them, already focused on William who couldn’t seem to be able to calm down._

_“William, it’s okay, I’m here. You’re safe and it’s just us.”_

_She kept whispering reassurances but he didn’t stop crying, his breaths coming out in short pants._

_Fearing he was going to hyperventilate, she cradled his face to make him look her in the eyes, earning protesting whimpers when he had to loosen his hold on her._

_“Will, look at me.” He did. “Everything is going to be okay, I promise. But you have to breathe slowly, in from your nose… And out from your mouth.”_

_He did as she said and after a couple of minutes they both relaxed when his breathing was back to normal, but he was still shaking._

_She wiped away the tears that were running down his cheeks._

_“I’m sorry I-” She stopped him before he could say another word._

_“You don’t have to apologize to me for something like this, okay? Never.” And he nodded in understanding._

_Felicity gathered him in her arms again and whispered “Do you want to talk about it?” She felt William hesitate, so she continued. “_ _It’s okay if you don’t want to, but know that I’ll listen when you’ll be ready.”_

_She stopped, unsure if she should say what she was thinking. In the end she decided to just go with it._

_“Your dad used to have a lot of nightmares, especially after something bad happened. I always woke up when he started to scream or when he kept moving around and every time I’d wake him up, hold him like this,” she tightened her hold to make her point, “and ask him to talk about it. Sometimes he did, other times he just wanted to be hugged. But he told me that when he talked about it… It made him feel a little bit better.”_

_The room filled with silence after that, only a few comforting words said by Felicity broke it._

_“Can you stay with me for a while?” He asked it with such a tiny voice that Felicity felt her heart break for him again._

_“Of course.” She responded._

_She moved to sit with her back against the headboard and opened her arms again, he immediately went to her and put his head on her chest._

_Felicity was running her fingers through his hair, when he spoke again._

_“My mom used to do this.” She froze._

_“Is it okay if I do it?” At his nod she relaxed again and resumed where she left off._

_Felicity thought he was falling asleep again, instead he surprised her when he started talking._

_“I was dreaming about my mom’s funeral.” She stilled again for a second, thinking about what to say to make him feel better. “I was staring at her grave and then there wasn’t her name on it… It changed and became dad’s name.”_

_He started to cry again, so Felicity held him a little tighter._

_“Shh, it’s okay. Your dad is gonna be fine.” She said, whishing she sounded more convincing than how she felt._

_She didn’t doubt Oliver’s abilities to keep himself safe, but in a prison with so many people that were there because of him and no one to back him up… That thought made her feel sick._

_“Will, I promise you that I’m gonna try to find a way to get him out of there. The right way, the legal way, so he -and the two of us- won’t have to hide, from the bad guys and from the FBI.”_

_He then looked at her with so much hope that she hated her next words, “I can’t promise you it’s going to work or that it will happen soon… But I promise that I’ll do everything I can to make it happen.” He nodded and settled back on her chest again._

_That’s how they spent the rest of the night, Felicity rocking William, whispering comforting words to him until he fell asleep. And even then she couldn’t let go of him._

_→_

With her promise in mind, she went to her bedroom. Every night, for the last four months, she worked hard to get Oliver out of prison and lately she felt like she was close at finding a solution, she just didn’t know if it was ever going to work.

She sat in front of her laptop -untraceable of course, she’s not a rookie- and stared at the screen. She felt the weight of the chain hanging from her neck, suddenly heavier, and lifted it to look at the ring.

_His wedding ring._

She remembered the day it was given to her, almost three weeks after Oliver’s arrest.

→

_Felicity was helping William with a math problem, when she heard a car stop right in front of the safe house._

_She heard the ARGUS agents ask “Who are you? And what do you want?”_

_“Mr. Queen asked me to come here.” Those words caught her attention even more._

_She told William to stay there while she went outside and hide in the panic room if a commotion started. She opened the door and she was suddenly blinded by the sunlight._

_Then Felicity saw the agents with their guns trained on a man she didn’t know._

_He had his hands raised in surrender and when he spotted her he waved a little with his hand, which caught the attention of the agents._

_“Miss Smoak, get back inside! He could be a threat!”_

_She was looking at the man and his calm behavior. He wasn’t a threat. She wasn’t sure why, but she saw something in his eyes that told her he was okay._

_“You said my husband sent you?” Felicity asked, ignoring the shouts of the agents as she got closer. The man nodded._

_“Did he say something in particular?” She knew that if Oliver sent someone to her he would use some kind of codeword to let her know she could trust this man._

_He smiled a little. “Yes, Miss Smoak. He told me to say that it was a red pen.”_

_She felt her knees go weak, but the fact that she was in front of someone who saw her husband recently gave her a new kind of strength. She wanted to go near him, but a gentle hand on her arm stopped her._

_“We still don’t know if he’s a threat, Miss Smoak.” The agent told her._

_She was still looking at the man in front of her. “I’m sorry, but do you mind if they search you for weapons? It’s the only way they will lower their guns.”_

_“Of course.” He said and the agents started to search him. “And I expected this, so I left my personal gun in the car. You can take it, if you want to be sure. I won’t use it anyway.” The agents did so and when they were happy he was unarmed they finally lowered their guns._

_They went inside, William in the kitchen still working on the math problem, but Felicity knew he was focused on what was going on. The agents stood a few feet away from them, still not trusting the man._

_She went to sit next to William, letting him know that everything was okay and then turned to the man, who sat in front of her after she nodded at him._

_“Thank you, Miss Smoak. My name is Thomas and I’m a supervisor agent at Slabside Maximum Security Prison.” He held out his hand for her to shake and she did._

_“Felicity, please. And this is William.”_

_Thomas smiled at him and said “Your dad sent me here.” William’s eyes widened and looked at Felicity for confirmation._

_“Well, he sent me to Mr. Diggle so he could get me to you. Mr. Diggle also sends his apologies for not being here, but he had a lot of work to do.” Felicity nodded in understanding and then Thomas continued._

_“Mr. Queen told me to say that he loves you, the both of you. And that he misses you a lot.”_

_William started to tear up and Felicity put her arm around his shoulder to give him some comfort. Or to comfort herself, once she realized she was fighting the tears in her own eyes._

_After giving them a moment, Thomas revealed the reason of his visit._

_“I’m also here to give you this, Felicity.” He reached inside his pocket and Felicity’s heart stopped when she recognized Oliver's wedding ring._

_No._

_That’s the first word that her brain supplied._

_She wasn’t sure what to think. Was he giving it back to her because he left her-left her? No, this man just said that Oliver loves them. Then why? Something happened to him? Was he hurt or… worse?_

_Thomas must have sensed her inner turmoil because he quickly explained._

_“He’s fine. Some prisoners took this from him but he got it back. He asked me to give it to you so it won’t happen again. Said it will be safe with you.”_

_This time she couldn’t stop the tears as she took the ring from his extended hand._

_“Why?” It was the only word she could get out. But Thomas understood what she meant. Why Oliver trusted this man with his ring._

_“The Hood saved my daughter after she was kidnapped. I’ve waited years to thank him for that.” He gave her a sincere smile. Then added “Just like I’m thanking you. I’m pretty sure you were the one finding her location in the first place.”_

_She didn’t remember ever seeing this man before, and didn’t know who his daughter was, but they saved a lot of lives with their mission. And she was happy that someone was so grateful to help them now, even if it was just with a few words and a ring._

_A special ring._

→

She kissed his ring and started her work to find a way to get him out of there.

→

William woke up slowly. He had a headache and his throat was hurting. He needed a glass of water.

_Maybe Felicity will know what to do._

He was about to get up, when he saw something on his nightstand. An envelope.

He sat on the bed and took the envelope. There was a letter inside, he opened it and started to read.

> _Dear william, I Am so sorry. i can’t go on like this, during these months i realized that being a parent is not something for me._
> 
> _Zero is the knowledge i have of what i’m doing most of the times, That’s not right for you, i Am not right for you,_
> 
> _Know please that i love your dad, i learned to love you too, but it’s not enough,_
> 
> _Everything about you reminds me of him. Not just your face and expressions, Voice has changed too and it sounds like his, I can’t ignore it any longer._
> 
> _you’re like a little Robin hood._
> 
> _i’m incredibly sorry. Usually if someone grew up as an only child with a single parent like me, they'd never do something like this to another kid._
> 
> _Specially if said kid is already living without both of his parents. but i will have to live with this for the rest of my life. i hope one day you will forgive me._
> 
> _felicity_

William stared at the words, not really seeing them anymore because of the tears in his eyes.

He ran to Felicity’s bedroom and what he saw scared him.

The opened wardrobe was completely empty, a few clothes were on the floor, but most of them were missing.

With shaky legs he went back to his bedroom. He grabbed the phone they gave him when this all started and called the only person he could think of.

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Oliver receives some news.


	3. But without you all I'm going to be is incomplete.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver receives some unexpected news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I say this to everyone who leaves a comment, but thank you so much for your kind words, it means a lot to me.
> 
> This chapter's title is from "Incomplete" by Backstreet Boys.

Oliver was doing some chin-ups, using the bar attached to the ceiling in his cell. It wasn’t like the salmon ladder, but it was better than nothing. He needed to keep himself in shape, he already lost a lot of weight because the food in there wasn’t the best -these people were even worse cooks than Felicity.

His feet just touched the floor, when a guard opened his cell. “You! With me!”

Oliver sighed, used the towel to wipe away the sweat and held out his hands. The guard started with the handcuffs on his wrists, then his ankles, the chain that went around his waist and then connected everything.

The man yanked the chains and if Oliver didn’t have the reflexes of a ninja -as Felicity used to say- he was sure his face would be on the floor.

While he walked, he tried not to think about what was waiting for him. They were in front of a door, the guard opened it and told him to enter. He saw Thomas leaning against the table in there, lost in thought.

Once he was inside, the guard left. Thomas got up and started to take off his chains, mumbling something about how they were useless anyway with him and didn’t understand why the guards insisted on using them whenever they moved him.

He was about to ask what was going on, when the door on the other side of the room opened.

John Diggle walked in.

Oliver couldn’t hide the smile at seeing his friend again and once he was free of the chains went to hug him. They hugged for a moment, Oliver finally enjoying some friendly human contact. They clapped each other’s back a few times and then they let go.

John was the first to speak. “You lost weight, man.”

He looked at him concerned, noticing the fading bruises and the cut above his left eyebrow that was old but was still healing after it got infected.

Oliver groaned. “I know.”

“You also need a haircut… At least they trimmed your beard recently.” He tried to joke, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes and it immediately worried Oliver.

“What is going on, John? Not that I don’t appreciate the visit, but why are you here?” He could hear the worry in his own voice.

John looked him in the eyes.

“It’s Felicity.” He gravely said.

Oliver felt a pain in his chest.

“What do you mean ‘It’s Felicity’? What happened to her? William?”

Before John could answer him, the door opened again and Samanda Watson walked in with a cold “Mr. Queen.” He briefly looked at her and focused back on John.

“Please answer me, John. What happened to Felicity?”

“She’s missing.” His friend answered.

Samanda came closer and started to talk. “Mr. Queen, your wife disappeared six days ago. The Director of ARGUS… She contacted me immediately and since then she’s been trying to convince me to let you out of here for a few days.” She was looking at the wall in front of her, clearly unhappy about the situation.

He saw John glare at her, but pushed it aside.

“You knew my wife was missing for almost an entire week and didn’t tell me? What about my son?! He was alone for a week?” He was furious.

John put a calming hand on his arm. “Lyla and I took care of William. He’s okay, everything considered.”

Before he could say a word, Samanda spoke again. “Mr. Queen, you don’t have those kind of privileges anymore. We shouldn’t even be here right now.”

The situation was quickly going out of control.

“Everybody, please calm down.” They heard Thomas quietly speak. They forgot he was still in the room.

“Mr. Queen, you need to know that Slabside, FBI and ARGUS made a deal. You can get out of here for 96 hours in order to take care of your son and help ARGUS with the researches.” He pointedly looked at Watson. “ARGUS, the agency in charge of the case.” He specified and she glared at him.

“96 hours, not one more minute, Mr. Queen.” Samanda was quick to clarify. “If you find your wife before the time runs out, you’ll be immediately brought back here. If you won’t find her, I’ll give you enough time to choose someone for your son’s legal guardianship. Four days. You can’t ask for more time.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go.” Oliver said with a determined voice.

→

At 1 pm, they were on an ARGUS private jet, it was faster than a car so John insisted on it.

He was glad his friend thought about everything. He also brought Oliver clothes, his clothes, and he sighed when he was finally wearing jeans and a v-neck instead of the prison suit.

After changing he came closer to where John was waiting for him and sat in front of him. “Please, tell me everything we know.” He asked, ready to think about a plan.

“Tuesday at 5:20 am I received a call. It was William, he was crying and he kept saying that Felicity was in trouble. When I told him to give her the phone, so she could explain to me what was wrong, he said that she wasn’t there and her stuff was missing. I was already in the car by then and let him talk to Lyla, while I called the agents in charge of their protection. They didn’t answer their phones. With an ARGUS team as back up, we arrived there in fifteen minutes and found the agents on the ground unconscious. They were alive, not even a scratch on them. But they had tranq darts in their necks.”

Oliver took a deep breath. “And William? Was he hurt?” He asked afraid of the answer.

John shook his head. “He was fine, shaken but fine. When we got inside we couldn’t find him at first, then we checked the panic room and as soon as he saw me on the monitors that are inside he got out.”

He saw Oliver close his eyes and sigh in relief, then he continued. “Lyla and I insisted on getting him checked out by a doctor, when we found a small tranq dart on the floor near his bed.”

Oliver’s eyes snapped open and they were full of terror, so John was fast to add “He was fine, he _is_ fine. The dose was minimal and we made them run all kind of tests and analysis, and everything came back negative. He’s healthy, and you’ll see him with your own eyes in less than thirty minutes.” That calmed him a little, but the worry was still there.

John gave him a moment to process everything. “You know what that means, right?”

Oliver slowly nodded. “They had a dart with a small dose of tranquilizer. They knew there was a kid inside and they knew they were going to use it. It was planned.”

“Yeah.”

“Did you… Did you check Thomas’s past?” Oliver didn’t want to think about the possibility of sending someone dangerous to them, but his gut told him the man was okay. As Felicity pointed out months ago, his gut is what kept him alive for years, so he trusted it.

“Of course, first thing as soon as I knew his name. He’s good. He started in the military, then became a guard at Iron Heights and now he’s supervisor at Slabside. You saved his daughter after she was kidnapped years ago.” John informed him.

“Yeah, he told me.”

“He’s okay, Oliver. I checked and re-checked, no connections with bad guys, no sudden appearing of money on his bank account. The only thing I found is a ticket for speeding. And I met him, I wouldn’t have sent him to Felicity if I had doubts about him. I swear.”

Oliver sighed in relief, then thought about what John said to him. “Wait… You told me that when William called you he said that Felicity was in trouble?” He nodded. “How can he be so sure about it?”

“Because Felicity left him a letter. And that’s our next problem.”

“Problem? What do you mean?” He asked confused.

“After the tests, he wanted to be left alone. He didn’t want to talk to me or Lyla, not even Thea and Roy when they arrived the next day.” John explained.

“Thea and Roy are there?” That surprised him a little.

“Yeah, they said they wanted to help us in any way they could, in finding Felicity, staying with William and just being there to support us. As I was saying, William didn’t want to talk and on the second night I found him sitting on the floor in his room, with papers all around him and he kept writing down stuff, like random letters and words that didn’t make sense.”

Oliver looked at him full of concern. “Do you know what they were all about?”

John sighed. “He didn’t want to say it, and he hid this letter from me. I didn't want to take it with force from him, so I decided to sit there and try to make him change his mind, convince him that if he showed it to me I could use it to find Felicity. He just said that Felicity wrote it for him and him only, he was the one who needed to ‘crack the code’ as he says. After two days we still couldn't find Felicity, so I tried to take the letter while he was asleep, but he woke up and didn’t say a word to me for the next couple of days. Which means he’s still not talking to me.” He finished with a sad smile.

“I’m sorry, John. Maybe this is his way of coping with… With Felicity’s disappearance.” Oliver’s voice cracked at the end.

“It’s okay, I know this is hard on him. But we’re gonna find her, Oliver.” He just nodded.

“On those papers, though, there were three words that William wrote over and over again: Diaz, taken and virus.”

Oliver felt his blood boil.

Logically he knew that William might think that Diaz was the one who took her because he’s tried to hurt them before and he was also the reason why they were hiding in a safe house. But he couldn’t deny that Diaz was the first name that came to his mind when John told him that Felicity was missing.

“After Felicity’s disappearance, Lyla called Watson. But that woman didn’t want to listen without some kind of proof. So Lyla worked hard to get you a permit to get out, at least temporarily. She had to ask for a few favors but in the end she made a deal with Thomas’s superiors, and then Watson had to agree to let you out.” John explained with a proud smile on his face.

“I don’t know what to say, John… I owe Lyla-”

John stopped him. “Don’t, Oliver. Felicity is family, and Lyla knows how essential you will be in finding her. We need you here.”

“Thank you, John. For everything. For being there for them, for getting me out of prison… Thank you for being such an amazing man.”

“Don’t even mention it. I’m sorry we couldn’t give you some more time.”

“I’ll make it worth it.”

They landed and then they were in the car. Luckily they were only five minutes away from the safe house. Oliver was getting restless, and he felt the need to do something.

A thought occurred to him. “I didn’t ask about the team. How are they doing?”

“Pretty good actually. Dinah is the new Police Captain and she hired Rene as a consultant to help her choose the new police officers. Curtis worked on updating their software or something -you know he’s worse than Felicity when he talks about these things.”

Oliver scoffed, _yes because when Felicity rambles is cute, Curtis is just downright annoying._

“They stayed back in Star City, keeping an eye out on things. Especially now, when we still don’t have a Mayor.”

“No one was elected in four months?”

“Well, no one wants to take that position after what happened to the last few Mayors and candidates.” John explained to him gently.

And Oliver couldn’t blame them.

Mayor Altman got shot by The Hoods, Sebastian Blood was killed by Isabel Rochev, Celia Castle by Maseo, Lonnie Machin kidnapped Jessica Danforth’s daughter then killed Ruvé Adams and Oliver got impeached.

He also will never forget his mother being stabbed by Slade and Quentin’s last moments at the hospital.

“How are you holding up on that front?”

Oliver took a deep breath. “The last thing I said to Quentin was that he was like a father to me, so… You know.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah.”

Then John carefully continued. “You should also know that Anatoly disappeared shortly after your arrest. He’s probably back in Russia. He called me a few days ago, one of his men that are still here told him that your wife was missing. He said that if they find something he will let us know.”

Oliver looked at him. “You think he has something to do with this?”

“I don’t know anymore, man.” The car stopped. “For now, go to your son.”

Nodding he got out of the car.

The house reminded him of the one they lived in when they were in Ivy Town, bringing memories of him and Felicity happily spending their time together between brunches and morning runs.

He saw agents keeping guard all around the house, he counted thirteen but knew there were more. He stopped right in front of the door and John put a hand on his shoulder.

“We didn’t tell him you were getting out. We didn’t want to give him false hope in case they changed their minds and kept you in prison.”

“Thank you, John.” He said sincerely and then he opened the door.

He entered and looked around the room. On the left there was a couch facing a tv on the wall, in the center there was a table and on the right he could see the kitchen and a small counter. It was nice.

Except for the chaos. People walking around, computers on every stable surface, wires on the floor, papers and photos everywhere.

Lyla noticed him and quickly went to hug him. “I’m so glad you’re here, Oliver. We missed you.”

“I missed everyone too.” He said with a small smile. They broke the hug and Oliver looked around.

“Thea and Roy went to get some food for tonight. William is upstairs, in his room.” She told him, knowing he was the one he was looking for. “The stairs are at the end of the corridor. His room is the last door on the left.”

Oliver looked at her gratefully. “Thank you, Lyla. For everything.”

“Don’t mention it. Now go. He’ll be happy to see you.” She said with a smile.

So Oliver followed her directions, taking the steps two at a time and stopped in front of his son’s bedroom. Taking a deep breath he knocked and heard William quietly say “Come in.”

He opened the door and saw him sitting on the floor, hunched over the papers John talked to him about. Oliver felt a pain in his chest at the sight.

He took a step inside but William didn’t turn around, still focused on the papers. He probably thought John or Lyla came here to check on him.

Unable to wait one more minute he said “Hey, buddy.”

He saw him go completely still, then slowly turn around to look at him. “Dad?” he whispered brokenly.

Oliver nodded and then his son screamed. “Dad!”

He got on his feet and ran to him, colliding against his chest. His still healing body protested but he didn’t care, because he was finally holding his son.

“You’re out?” He asked it with so much hope that Oliver hated what he had to say next.

“It’s just for a few days, then I’ll have to go back.”

William tightened his hold on him, not wanting to let go. Oliver was fine with that.

“They let me come here so I could stay with you and… And we could look for Felicity.” William let go at that and looked at him with wide eyes.

“I found the clues! They were all in the letter, Felicity made sure to leave them, just like I knew she would, she’s a genius after all. And John… John thinks I’m crazy and that I’m seeing things, but I’m not! It’s all in there, and we have to find her because-”

“Okay, slow down, William.” He looked like a younger male version of a babbling Felicity and that thought made him smile.

“You’ll tell me about all of that in a minute, but first I need to know one thing.” When he nodded he asked “Are you okay? Did they hurt you when they came here?”

“No, I woke up with a headache but after the tests John told me to sleep for a couple of hours and then I was fine.”

He sighed in relief. “Good. Now, do you want to tell me what you found? The clues you were talking about?”

William’s face lit up at that. He resumed his earlier position on the floor and Oliver sat next to him. William was about to give him a piece of paper but hesitated.

“Buddy, Felicity won’t be mad at you for showing this to someone else.”

Looking at his son in the eyes he could see how much this story has affected him in the last week. His eyes were red and tired, maybe for the tears he shed or maybe because he hadn’t slept much, probably a combination of both.

With a final nod he held out the paper. Oliver opened it and immediately noticed two things.

The first was Felicity’s neat handwriting.

And the second was the color of the ink.

It was red.

> _Dear william, I Am so sorry. i can’t go on like this, during these months i realized that being a parent is not something for me._
> 
> _Zero is the knowledge i have of what i’m doing most of the times, That’s not right for you, i Am not right for you,_
> 
> _Know please that i love your dad, i learned to love you too, but it’s not enough,_
> 
> _Everything about you reminds me of him. Not just your face and expressions, Voice has changed too and it sounds like his, I can’t ignore it any longer._
> 
> _you’re like a little Robin hood._
> 
> _i’m incredibly sorry. Usually if someone grew up as an only child with a single parent like me, they'd never do something like this to another kid._
> 
> _Specially if said kid is already living without both of his parents. but i will have to live with this for the rest of my life. i hope one day you will forgive me._
> 
> _felicity_

Oliver read the letter twice before looking at his son.

“William, I’m absolutely sure that she didn’t mean a single word. She loves you and would never leave you like this.”

“I know. I knew it the first time I read it. She wrote that I’m like Robin Hood.”

At Oliver’s confused expression he continued. “When we first arrived here, we agreed that if something happened or we needed to communicate that we were in danger we would use ‘Robin Hood’ as a code-word. She wrote it because she’s in danger, dad. I’m sure of it. Also…”

He hesitated, but with an encouraging nod from Oliver he went on.

“She doesn’t call me William anymore, just Will. And she never called me ‘dear’ but… ‘sweetheart’.” He timidly said. “I like it when she calls me that, she makes me feel at home. Just like when you call me ‘buddy’.”

Oliver couldn’t help himself and hugged him. “I love you so much. You know that, right?” He felt him nod and he closed his eyes, savoring the moment.

A knock at the door interrupted them, and they saw John standing there. “I’m sorry, but our IT guy says that he might have found something and he wants to see us in five minutes.”

Oliver nodded, but William remembered something.

“Oh, and look at this, dad. All sentences should start with a capital letter, but they don’t. She used only a few capitals and they form the words Diaz, taken and virus. But I’m not sure what she was trying to tell me with that.”

He read the letter again and saw that he was right. “You were very smart at finding them. Good job, son.” He smiled at him and William smiled back.

“Thanks, dad.”

John, who was standing just a few feet away from them, asked “What virus do you think she’s talking about? The Omega Virus?”

“No, the one that Ra’s al Ghul wanted to use was the last existing vial.”

But William wasn’t finished. “I also noticed that she used periods and commas in a weird way. I mean, everyone knows that you have to use a period at the end of a sentence, not a comma. And she’s smart, she doesn’t make that kind of mistake.”

He looked at the letter again. “William, can you give me a pen, please?”

He found a blank sheet and when William gave him the pen -ironically red, again- he started to write.

, . , . , , , , , , . , , . . . , . . . .

Oliver looked at John.

“Morse code.” They both said at the same time.

“Okay, so we can guess she used commas instead of lines, but how do we know which letters she was trying to write? Do we ask the IT guys to create some kind of algorithm?”

Oliver studied the letter over and over again. “Maybe every time she starts a new paragraph it’s a different letter.”

-.-.  ---  ---  .--.  .  .-.  ...

COOPERS

Oliver and John looked at each other. “Cooper S. Like Cooper Seldon? Her ex? He died like two years ago.” John said.

But Oliver was already shaking his head. “She was trying to say that she’s been _taken_ by _Diaz_ because he wants _Cooper’s virus_.”

The room fell silent. William not understanding all of it, John lost in thought and Oliver worrying about his wife.

“We both know how much she still feels guilty about creating that virus.” Oliver said grimly and John nodded.

Lyla chose that moment to show up.

“Guys, you need to see something.”

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: what happened that night to Felicity.
> 
> Soooooo... Some of you found the clues in the letter, good job!  
> And for those who were wondering, Thomas is good. I never wanted him as a bad guy, and only after someone commented that his behavior was suspicious I realized it might seem so. Then I decided to add a little extra scene where Oliver asks John about him, so there won't be more doubts... Hopefully! But I promise, he's good.


	4. I just wanna scream how could this happen to me.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are! In this chapter you'll find out what happened to Felicity that night and where she is right now.
> 
> Chapter's title from "Untitled" by Simple Plan.

Her head was pounding and her neck was hurting.

She opened her eyes and found herself still sitting on the chair in front of the monitors.

Last night she fell asleep while she worked, again. Well, more like this morning, since it was already 3 pm. Day… Night… They were all the same since the night they took her.

→

_Felicity had just sent an email to Curtis, explaining to him the idea she had to get Oliver out of jail, when she heard noises coming from William’s bedroom._

_Maybe he couldn’t sleep or he was having a nightmare, so she went to check on him._

_She found his door closed. Which was weird, because she was sure to leave it open every night, just how William asked her to do._

_She opened it, entered the room and found him laying on the bed._

_She got closer and saw that he was peacefully asleep. She was about to turn around, wanting to let him rest, when she noticed something on his neck._

_Blood froze in her veins when she recognized it as a tranq dart._

_Felicity turned on the light and rushed to the bed. She took the dart from William’s neck, threw it on the floor and then checked him for injuries._

_When she was sure he wasn’t hurt, she gently shook him, trying to wake him up. He was not responding._

_“Will, please wake up. Come on…” But she knew it was useless, if he’d been drugged there was nothing she could do to wake him up before the effect of the drug vanished._

_“Isn’t that lovely…”_

_Someone said behind her. She knew that voice. She hated that voice._

_She quickly turned around, still sitting with one arm extended protectively over William’s body._

_Ricardo Diaz was leaning against the wall. A tranq gun in his hand._ _Felicity was angry at herself for not checking the room for danger first._

_“You sick son of a bitch!” She yelled at him. “He’s innocent in all of this!”_

_“Relax, baby.”_

_She hated that. When Oliver called her ‘baby’ it made her feel loved. This guy made her want to throw up._

_“Relax?” She was fuming now. Felicity stood and pointed an accusing finger at him. “You drugged my son!”_

_“He’s not your son.” He calmly stated._

_“Maybe not by blood, but he’s my family. The only family I have left, and that’s because of you.” She told him through gritted teeth._

_He just hummed, to let her know he heard her, but said nothing._

_A man bigger than John entered the room and stayed at his side like a bodyguard. He had a gun in his hand and another one in the holster attached to his belt. Those were not tranq guns._

_“What the hell do you want? I’m sure if you wanted us dead we wouldn’t be talking right now.”_

_Diaz sat on the edge of the desk where William kept his books. She’ll make sure to get rid of that when this will be over. If she was still alive._

_“I need your computer skills for something.”_

_“Don’t you have some lackey for that?” She knew that provoking the bad guy was always a bad idea, but she couldn’t help it._

_This man -not that you can call someone like him a man- had the nerve to come here, do god knows what to the ARGUS agents, drug William and demand for her help? Unbelievable._

_“Miss Smoak… Felicity.”_

_She almost preferred when he called her ‘baby’. He said her name with a voice that made her shiver -and not in the good way._

_“You should be careful to what you say. I can kill your sweet little William in a matter of seconds.”_

_Trying not to show how scared she actually was, she said “You can’t kill him. You do it and you’ll lose any leverage you have on me. And you know it.”_

_“Yes, I know that. That’s why he’s drugged. But remember, just because I didn’t kill him it doesn’t mean I won’t hurt him.” He said in a low voice._

_Swallowing hard, she responded him. “You can’t hurt a child… It’s… It’s just… Inhuman.”_

_He started to get closer, his eyes never leaving hers._

_“You have no idea of what people are capable of doing to a child.” He said it like he’s been on the receiving end of something bad. Not that she cared right now._

_Diaz put the gun in the holster he had under his coat, then in his hand there was a switchblade and he took a step closer to the bed._

_“Okay! Okay… Okay.” She put her hands in front of her in a placating way and took a step closer to William. “Tell me what you need.”_

_“I heard you are very familiar with a certain virus. I need it.”_

_She immediately knew he meant Cooper’s virus. Well, her virus. Cooper wanted to use it, but she was the one who created it._

_Before she could say anything, another person joined them._

_Felicity’s eyes widened._

_“Alena?”_

_She smirked. “Hi, Felicity. Long time, no see.”_

_“This girl here told me about the virus you created years ago, when you were… What was it?”_

_“Ghost Fox Goddess.” Alena answered him._

_“Right. You know, I didn’t think you had it in you to ever do something like this, something criminal… Other than your vigilante-job I mean.”_

_“I wasn’t-”_

_“I didn’t say you could speak.” He interrupted her, taking a threatening step closer to her and William. “Anyway, I found out that the virus was used in 2014 to bring chaos in the city. And Alena told me that after that… You blocked it or something.”_

_“Well, she put firewalls that ar-”_

_“I don’t care!” Diaz shouted in her face and Alena backed away._

_He took a deep breath and continued. “The point… Is that this one can’t make it work again. And I need it functional. So this is what we’re gonna do.”_

_He leaned closer to Felicity and rested the switchblade against her neck._

_He spoke slowly, every word making her more and more afraid._

_“You’ll write a letter to the boy, in which you say that you’re leaving him because you don’t care about him. Then you’ll pack your things and we’re gonna leave this place for good. Oh, and Mike, over there, is going to read the letter to me. So be careful to what you write. Because if there’s even one word that I think is a call for help… Your precious William will need a suit that will cover his neck at his own funeral.”_

_To prove his point, he pressed the blade against her neck, slicing the skin until it started to bleed and she winced in pain. He then held out the blade in front of her eyes, to let her see a few drops of blood fall to the floor._

_After that, Diaz left the room with Alena following him. Mike stayed._

_On shaky legs, Felicity crossed the room to get pen and paper, always keeping an eye on the man. Then went to sit on William’s bed again. All the while thinking about a way to leave a hidden message._

_If Mike was going to read the letter, she might have a chance he won’t notice a few ‘grammatical errors’. He didn’t seem particularly smart, but she still needed to be careful. She couldn’t risk William’s life even more._

_She started to write._

_She obviously had to put ‘Diaz’ in it, and the word ‘taken’ because she didn’t want them -William, John and Lyla- to think that she left willingly. They also needed to know that he wanted her because of the ‘virus’._

_Felicity contemplated to put Alena’s name too, but what if John and Lyla thought she was telling them to ask for her help? Then Alena would know about the message and tell everything to Diaz, who would kill them all._

_So she put ‘coopers’, hoping they’ll understand that she meant his virus._

_She was pretty sure that the guy would notice the Morse Code if she used the lines, so she had to get creative with the commas. She just hoped that her friends will see it._

_But most of all Felicity needed to make sure William knew it was a fake letter._

_She didn’t want him to think that she was leaving him, especially because she had to write those things, under Diaz’s orders._

_Yes, John and the others will tell him about the secret message, but she needed him to know it as soon as he read it the first time. So she used the code word they agreed on. Robin Hood._

_When the letter was done, she read it a few times, making sure the clues were there but not too obvious for Mike. It was during her third reading that she noticed it._

_The pen._

_It was red._

_She heard his voice in her head saying it, and for a moment she was back at that Italian restaurant, in a red dress, looking into his blue eyes. Her chest constricted._

_She was pulled out of her reverie by Diaz entering the room once again._

_“Alena had the courtesy of helping with your bags, so now Mike will read us the letter and then we’ll leave.” He said cheerily._

_She held out the letter, the man took it and started to read it aloud._

_The entire time Felicity and Diaz looked at each other. A battle of stares going on._

_Every time Mike read a word that she knew included part of the clues she made sure not to flinch or fidget. She pretended to be completely relaxed, as relaxed as someone could be in her situation._

_When the guy read the words ‘Robin Hood’, Diaz tilted his head at her and Felicity feared she got busted. But she didn’t react externally._

_When he finished reading he gave the letter back to her and she focused on putting it inside an envelope. She left it on the nightstand, so William will notice it as soon as he woke up._

_She turned around and saw Diaz still looking intently at her. She stared back, daring him to say anything._

_“Robin Hood?” He asked mockingly, then scoffed. “That is such a lame nickname.”_

_He turned around to leave and said “We’re leaving. Know that this is the last time you’ll ever see him. Say goodbye, but make it quick. We don’t have more time to waste.”_

_Once alone with William -and bodyguard man, who stayed to keep an eye on her- she hugged him the best she could, considering his unresponsive body._

_Part of her wished he was awake, so she could hug him properly, but it was probably better this way. It would hurt her more to see him cry, and it would surely hurt him to watch her leave._

_So, with her left arm around his back keeping him upright and her right hand supporting his head, Felicity held him tightly against her chest. Tears ran down her cheeks as she sobbed uncontrollably._

_It didn’t matter that he’s been part of her life for just over an year, it still hurt so damn much to know she’ll never see him again. Because she knew that once Diaz had what he wanted he’d kill her._

_And to make matters worse, Felicity knew William was never going to see his father again. He was going to be alone, and that’s what hurt the most._

_She wasn’t sure for how long she held him, but way too soon the guy told her it was time to go. At least he didn’t drag her away from William._

_Felicity gently put him down, making sure he was in a comfortable position and covered him with the blanket. She ran her hand through his hair one more time, whispered “I love you” to him and with a last kiss on his forehead she stood and left._

_The more the space grew between them, the more her heart felt heavy._

_She went downstairs, Diaz was waiting near the kitchen table and he raised an eyebrow when he saw her crying, but she didn’t care._

_Felicity, Diaz and Mike went outside. There were at least ten armed men waiting for them and when Diaz nodded they went inside their vehicles._

_She also saw ARGUS agents on the ground, on some of them she noticed the same kind of tranq dart she found on William and she was glad that they were at least alive. She hoped they will wake up soon so they could protect William, even if that didn’t work tonight. She also hoped that won’t happen again._

_Felicity was forced to climb into the back of a van, with Diaz and Mike. Alena was nowhere in sight._

_It was like one of those vans the FBI used in movies, with computers and screens everywhere._

_Diaz made her sit in front of a keyboard. “Now, you’re gonna hack those hidden cameras that are around the house and wipe the history or something. ARGUS doesn’t need to see me and my people. But you’re gonna leave the recording of the last 20 seconds.”_

_In that moment Alena climbed into the van. She was wearing one of Felicity’s hoodies and a blonde wig. She was also carrying a bag containing some of her clothes._

_Felicity decided to think about that later, but when she looked at the screen in front of her she understood what happened._

_In the video, she saw Alena standing near the unconscious agents with a tranq gun in her hand and from this distance anyone could mistake her for Felicity. The wig, her clothes, the bag. They wanted to make it look like Felicity ran away willingly._

_She swallowed hard and did what Diaz told her to do. Leaving only the part where ‘Felicity’ fled the scene._

_When she was done with that, one of the men handcuffed her -as if she’d try anything with all of these armed men._

_Felicity zoned out for most part of the drive. She didn’t know how much time passed, she was too worried about William’s wellbeing, but at some point the van stopped. She looked outside and her eyes widened when she recognized the place._

→

She straightened her back, releasing some of the tension, and looked around the room.

They were at Helix. Well, what once was the Helix headquarters, and then became the other team’s lair. The one Diaz filled with toxic gas. She wondered if he hid there after disappearing four months ago.

She was handcuffed to the table, just like that time with Cooper.

If she wasn’t so tired maybe she would’ve laughed at the irony. Some psycho tied her hands to the table because he wanted her to use her super-virus to wreck the city.

The only difference was that Diaz scared her way more than Cooper ever did.

Felicity tried to move her hands and she winced when the handcuffs reopened the cuts on her wrists, making them bleed again. After six consecutive days of wearing the cuffs the skin on her wrists was raw, angry red, and the constant movement of when she typed only made it worse.

She looked behind her and on the couch there was one of the goons Diaz always left in the room with her.

“I need to use the bathroom.” She told him.

The man got up and uncuffed her. He stayed at the end of the corridor and she almost thanked him for the privacy. _Almost._ He was still one of Diaz’s men.

She took the bag with her clothes, thankful that at least this part of their sick plan ended up being useful, and entered the bathroom.

Felicity took a shower, sighing in relief when the hot water helped with the pain in her neck. It wasn’t like the shower they had at home or the one at the safe house, but it was better than nothing.

She took care of her wrists, washing away the blood and tried to ignore how much the hot water stung when it came in contact with the wounds.

She felt the ring hanging from the chain around her neck and wondered what Oliver would say about all of this. She was sure he’d be very, very pissed off and worried.

When she was done, she grabbed the towel form the hanger and wrapped herself in it.

She opened the shower curtain and gasped when she saw Diaz leaning against the sink. She tightened her hold on the towel.

“I locked that door.” Felicity said outraged.

“And I opened it. I need to talk to you.” He said, his cold eyes never leaving hers.

“Here? Now?” He got closer and she took a step back.

On a normal day she’d find him annoying -delusions of grandeur and all- but right now he scared her, a lot. It was probably the fact that he was standing there and she was basically naked.

But he was only focused on her eyes, not caring one bit about her undressed state.

“Why is it taking you so long to make the virus work again?”

She had her back against the wall now and he still walked towards her.

Felicity tried to come up with a response. The truth was that at the beginning she tried to buy herself some time, hoping that John and ARGUS would find her. But after four days no one showed up, so she started to slowly get to work.

“It… Takes time… I-” She hated how her voice was trembling, but his cold stare was scaring her. She swallowed hard and continued. “Last time, I made sure nobody would be able to use it, including me. I have to reprogram everything and… As I said, it takes time.” At least it was part of the truth.

He looked at her and nodded, then turned around and she silently sighed in relief.

Before she knew what was happening he had his hand around her throat, her head painfully hit the wall behind her and she was gasping for air. He tightened his grip and she was seriously worried he might kill her, right now, in a shower stall.

“If you’re lying to me, and you’re just messing around… I can assure you that you will regret it. You’ll be wishing I killed you back in that safe house.” She felt his hot breath against her cheek and she wanted to throw up.

Her brain was in serious need of oxygen, black dots started to fill her vision. Just when she thought she was about to pass out he let go of her and she fell to the floor gasping for air.

“I’m gonna give you three days. If I won’t have the virus by then, I’ll keep my word on what I said about William.” And then he left.

Curled up on the floor, Felicity cried for a long time. Her throat and head were throbbing, her wrists were still bleeding, the cut on her throat from a few days ago opened again and it was bleeding too.

When she was able to calm down she stood and looked in the bag for some clothes. She put on jeans and a t-shirt. She took care of her wrists again, and wiped away the blood from her neck. She refused to look at herself in the mirror, knowing she’d only see the hand shaped bruise on her neck.

Felicity was about to close the bag, when she saw it inside.

Fresh tears sprung from her eyes when she put on the grey hoodie. _Oliver’s grey hoodie._ She already wore it a few times so his scent wasn’t so strong anymore, but it was there.

And somehow it gave her hope.

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Oliver receives a call meanwhile Felicity tries to hold on.
> 
> I don't want to spoil anything, but a lot of things happen in chapter 5 and I can't wait to post it!
> 
> Also, I'm still convinced that Alena is bad. Cayden James's imprisonment in the flashbacks (6x13) and the cameras turning off when Diaz killed him, she was the one who found the real video of who killed Owen... Too many coincidences... I don't know if they'll do or say something about it on the show, but I think she's acting weird every time she's on my screen.


	5. I can't breathe easy, can't sleep at night 'til you're by my side.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver receives a call meanwhile Felicity tries to hold on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go, another chapter! A lot of things happen and.... I'm sorry?
> 
> Chapter's title from "Breathe Easy" by Blue.

Lyla’s urgent tone let them know it was important. They all went downstairs and stopped behind a young man who was watching a video on his laptop.

“This is Jack, ARGUS’s best IT guy. You need to see what he found.” Lyla said.

“Thank you, Director Michaels. And yes, I think I’ve found something you’ll want to see.” He turned to look at the monitor and typed a few commands. A video started to play on the screen.

“This is a video footage of the camera that points to the front door. It’s from the night Miss Smoak went missing.”

They all watched as the ARGUS agents patrolled the perimeter around the house, until the video cut and in the next frame they were all on the ground unconscious. A woman was standing in the middle with a gun in her hand and a bag over her shoulder. Then she walked away, off screen.

John got closer to Oliver. “I’m sorry Oliver, I forgot to mention that we already had this video. There’s a gap of almost one hour between the two different frames. What we don’t understand is why Felicity would leave 7 seconds of herself standing there doing nothing and then walking away. Why not erase all of the frames with her in it? You can’t even see her face.”

Jack played the video again and Oliver noticed a few details he missed the first time.

“That’s not Felicity.” He said confidently. “That woman is holding the gun in her left hand, but Felicity is not left handed and that’s not her gait. Then the bag is too small to contain all of the missing clothes.”

“Well, that’s why Jack has been trying to recover the missing part of the video.”

“Yes, and this is the good news. I was able to recover the 10 seconds prior to the part when the video starts after the cut.” He typed something and then a new footage played on the screen.

It still showed the woman standing there, doing nothing, but this time she was looking directly at the camera before turning around.

“That’s Alena.” Oliver said. “She’s wearing a wig and Felicity’s clothes. They wanted us to think that Felicity drugged the agents so she could run away.” The others agreed.

Oliver saw William going back upstairs and he was about to follow him, when Jack spoke again.

“I also sent this to Curtis Holt, like you asked.” He said to Lyla. “He just replied to me saying that this is Miss Smoak’s type of coding. This is her doing.”

Lyla nodded. “Good work, Jack.”

Oliver turned around to go check on William. John followed him and when they reached the stairs he spoke.

“Oliver, man, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the video. I forgot-”

“Don’t worry, John. I know you had a lot to think about these days.” Oliver said sincerely. Then added “Are there any cameras in the house?”

John shook his head. “No. Just outside, all around the perimeter. Felicity insisted on not having them inside. She wanted to give William some normalcy and that included privacy for him.”

Oliver felt his heart swell with love for his wife. He nodded at his friend. “I’m gonna go check on William. I want to spend as much time as I can with him and make sure he’s okay.”

“Of course. I’ll call you if there’s any news.” And then he went back to Lyla.

Oliver went upstairs and when he reached William’s door he heard a sniffle. With his heart in his throat he quietly opened the door and went inside.

William was sitting on his bed, tears running down his cheeks.

Oliver got closer and sat down next to him, he opened his arms and William went to hug him. “Talk to me, buddy.”

After a minute of silence he asked it. “Is Felicity dead?” And Oliver felt him tighten his hold, as if to prepare for the worst.

“No.” He was quick to answer. “I'd know if she was, and she’s not. She’s strong, stronger than any of us can imagine and I’m absolutely sure she’s doing everything she can to come home to you.”

William pulled away and looked at him with scared eyes. “But you all said that it wasn’t her in the video. That it was someone else pretending to be her, so that must mean tha-”

“William, those people need her alive. Yes, someone pretended to be her because they wanted to fool us, so we wouldn’t look for her. But they need her computer abilities for something, involving that virus she mentioned in the letter. She’s alive. I know it.”

Logically he knew that in six, almost seven, days a lot can happen. But he didn’t want to think like that. He needed to have faith in Felicity. He needed to believe in her.

“Why don’t you lay down for a while? Maybe try to sleep?” He told him gently.

“But it’s only 3:20 pm.” William said, glancing at the clock.

“Then what about a nap? I can see you haven’t been sleeping well lately.”

He hesitated, so Oliver asked him carefully “Is it because of the nightmares?”

William’s eyes widened slightly and he took a deep breath. He was right.

“Buddy, it’s completely normal to have them. A lot of things happened to you and to the people around you. As much as I wish you didn’t have them, I’m not surprised they happen from time to time. And this time I’ll be here to wake you up if needed.”

“Felicity told me something similar a few times.” He whispered.

Oliver smiled sadly. “I know. She used to say this to me.”

“She always wakes me up when I have one… But this week she wasn’t here, so… I couldn’t really sleep after.” He admitted quietly.

Trying to find a way to distract him for a while, Oliver asked “Why don’t you tell me about your time together? What did you do while you were here?”

So William told him. He spent almost an hour telling him about the things they did and talked about. Oliver was so proud of Felicity, of the amazing parent she became in such a short time.

When William let out a yawn he repeated his earlier question. “Why don’t you try to rest? Even talking can be tiring.” And this time William followed his advice.

When he was under the covers he whispered “Will you still be here when I wake up?”

“Yes.” He didn’t hesitate. “I’m gonna go take a shower right know, but then I’ll be back, okay?” He nodded and closed his eyes.

Oliver leaned down to kiss the top of his head and whispered “I love you.” To which William replied “I love you too, dad.” It made Oliver smile.

He left the room, opened what he presumed was Felicity’s bedroom door and went inside.

Her scent immediately filled his nostrils. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.

He missed her so much.

He missed her voice, her laugh, the way she looked at him, her kisses, the feel of her body against his.

But most of all he missed her happiness, the way she’d cheer him up with only a few words. He missed her light.

He opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times because of the tears that were there.

Looking around he saw that the wardrobe was empty with the exception of a couple of shirts and a few more on the floor.

He walked to the dresser and opened the first drawer. Her underwear. Not what he was looking for, but there were a few pair of boxer that he was sure belonged to him. He took one and closed the drawer. He opened the second drawer and his chest constricted.

Inside there were his clothes. Shirts, t-shirts, hoodies, jeans and sweatpants. They all belonged to him and he wondered why she brought them here when he was still in prison. Then he remembered how she liked to wear his clothes when they stayed at home. She used to say they made her feel safe.

Grabbing his favorite cargo pants and a white t-shirt, he walked to the door on the other side of the room.

Oliver entered the bathroom, put his clean clothes on the sink and started to undress. When he was naked he saw his reflection in the mirror and could see what the last four months did to his body.

He lost weight, on his chest there were bruises from the last fight in the yard, on his right hip he had a new scar that was still red and he was sure his back wasn’t any better. On his face there were a few fading bruises and the cut above his left eyebrow never healed properly without the stitches.

He walked to the shower and turned on the water. He went under the spray, the water was burning hot and he welcomed the feeling. In prison the water was barely warm. He missed this.

He also missed the privacy. There was always someone, guards and inmates, and they always looked at him. At his scars. They usually got scared after they saw him, after they saw how much pain and torture he had already endured. That kept them away from trying to kill him, or at least hurt him.

Looking around, he saw only one shower gel. The one Felicity always used. He opened it and started to wash himself. It was one of those fruit scented things and he remembered when they’d take a shower together.

He felt his body react to the memory. It’s been four months after all.

It’d be so easy to grab himself and get the release he desperately needed. But he couldn’t do it. He didn’t do it when in jail he’d wake up with a bulge in his pants and he couldn’t do it now.

Not like this. Not without Felicity.

Not when she was still missing.

Turning the water on cold, he finished washing himself and then he got out.

He dressed, thankful that the cold water helped to calm down his body, then went back to William’s room just to find him asleep.

He busied himself with the papers that were still on the floor, piling them on William’s desk. He was crouched near the bed again when something on the floor caught his eye.

Dropping the papers, he got closer and saw what could only be a drop of blood. There were a few, actually. Knowing that William wasn’t hurt he had to assume it was Felicity’s.

He clenched his hands into tight fists and resisted the urge to break something.

He knew that Diaz was responsible for this.

And Oliver wanted to kill that son of a bitch.

→

Felicity went back to ‘her desk’ and the goon handcuffed her again to the table. Her wrists will never heal this way. She was probably going to have permanent damage.

She started to work on activating the virus, when Alena walked in.

She sat on the chair to her right and asked “What happened to your neck?”

Felicity glared at her. “What do you think happened?” Her voice hoarse, because of both tears and pain.

Alena looked surprised. “Was it Ricardo?”

Felicity laughed, or tried to. Her throat was hurting so much. “Ricardo? Wow. You’re on a first name basis, congratulations.”

“We don’t sleep together.” She said disgusted.

“I don’t care.” Felicity went back to work. Diaz only gave her three days, it wasn’t much.

She hoped Alena will get the hint and go away, but she didn’t. Instead she started talking.

“I don’t even understand why he wants you to activate the virus.”

“So he can bring chaos in the city.” _You idiot._

“That’s it. I don’t get it. He doesn’t need to bring chaos, he already has the Markov device.” She calmly said.

Felicity froze. The Markov device. The same earthquake device that Malcolm Merlyn used to destroy half of the Glades.

Alena continued unperturbed. “I mean I get it, he wants to bring chaos and enjoy to watch people running around scared, but why not just use the earthquake device? All he has to do is take you to your first lair and make you activate the device. Simple as that. This virus thing is useless and a waste of time, if you ask me.”

Before Alena could say another word, Felicity was deafened by a loud noise and the right side of her face was covered in blood.

She saw Alena laying on the ground, eyes wide open, with a bullet hole in her head. A pool of blood already forming under her.

Felicity heard Diaz sigh behind her but she couldn’t turn around to face him, too shocked by what just happened.

“She talked too much.” He said in a cold voice.

When she felt the muzzle of the gun against her temple Felicity flinched, so hard that the movement caused the handcuffs to dig painfully into the cuts on her wrists.

“You know… I like to watch people in the eyes when they are terrified.” With the gun still pressed against her head, he slowly sat in the now empty chair and forced her to look him in the eyes.

“You can see a lot of things in their eyes. Sorrow, shame, disgust, horror and my favorite… Fear.” A small smirk appeared on his face.

Then, as if he remembered something, he got up and walked to the other side of the room. Felicity was shaking so much that she heard the handcuffs rattle against the table.

Diaz came back and he had some kind of remote in his hand. “Courtesy of Cayden James. I’m not sure why he needed this, but… Now I have it, so...” He flipped the switch.

Felicity let out an anguished scream, as pain radiated in her back and she saw -rather than felt- her legs go slack.

He just turned off her chip.

“I don’t know how he did it, but the girl said that he programmed it specifically for that thing in your back. So he could turn it on and off as he liked… But he’s dead, so _I_ will turn it on and off as I like. Which means that you won’t have your legs back until I have that virus working.” Then he left.

And the only sounds in the room were her screams of pain.

→

Oliver was sitting in the chair in William’s room. He looked at the clock and saw that it was almost 2 am.

Earlier Thea and Roy came in here to bring them food and to talk about what happened while they were gone, and then about when they came back.

Oliver missed his sister a lot, but he was happy for her. He could hear in her voice that she was finally happy with Roy and that brought a smile to his face. After a while they left, giving him and William some space.

Now he watched as William slept. He had a lot of sleep to catch up on.

But Oliver was restless. He had a weird sensation inside his chest. A bad feeling, that something was wrong.

He was studying Felicity’s letter again, when a quiet knock came from the door and he saw John standing there. Oliver got up and walked out of the room, closing the door so they won’t disturb William.

John had a grim face and that worried Oliver. “What is it?”

“Curtis just called. He had an idea.”

Oliver eyed him. “I have a feeling that I won’t like this.”

“He suggested that we… Could use Felicity’s chip to locate her. Just like that time when they tracked us by hacking mine.” He said clenching his right hand, remembering that night of over six months ago.

Oliver was about to yell, but reminded himself that William was a few feet away from them sleeping and he didn’t want to scare him.

So he said through clenched teeth “Absolutely not. You remember how much pain that thing caused you. We… I know that maybe, _maybe_ , we could find her that way, but I’m not willing to cause her an unnecessary pain when we don’t know for certain that we’ll find her. And don’t even get me started on the fact that if we do it she won’t be able to use her legs. What if she’s running away from Diaz and in that moment we turn the chip off? She’d be defenseless, vulnerable and in pain.”

“There’s more to it.” He saw anger in John’s eyes and that worried him even more. “Curtis already tried to hack her chip. That’s why he called.”

Oliver was fuming. He paced the hallway a few times before slamming his fist in the wall, leaving an indentation in it.

John continued. “He said that the chip is already offline.”

Oliver felt the anger leave his body, replaced by terror. “What… What does it mean exactly?” His voice was trembling.

“It could mean that someone already turned it off, or that an EMP fried it -again- or it’s not working properly.”

“Or she’s dead.” He whispered.

“Don’t go there, man. We have to believe that she’s alive. And we’re gonna find her.”

In that moment John’s phone started to ring and he answered. “Hello?”

He looked at Oliver, then held out his phone to him. “It’s for you.” He said courtly.

Oliver took the phone and pressed it to his ear, afraid of who could be on the other end of the line.

“ _Zdravstvuyte, Kapiushon._ ”

“Anatoly. How did you know I was out of jail?” Nobody except ARGUS and the FBI knew about it.

“I am _Pakhan_ again, now. I must know what happens to _Bratva_ _Kapitan_. Just how I knew your wife was missing.”

“What do you want?” He didn’t have time to waste.

“Nothing. I have men in your country, they called me a few minutes ago. They reported suspicious activity in Star City.”

“What do you mean?”

“They saw people that worked for Diaz in past. They have address for possible location of your wife, I am going to send message to John Diggle with that address.”

Oliver felt a rush of adrenaline at that. “Are you sure?”

“My men are positive, yes.”

Oliver didn’t know what to say. “Why are you doing this?” He wondered aloud.

“Because you are honorable man, Oliver. I am sorry I didn’t realize sooner. Also, your woman is Bratva wife. And we protect our Bratva wives.” He said with conviction.

Swallowing hard, Oliver said “ _Spasibo, moy drug._ ”

They hung up and John looked at him expectantly. “So?”

“He’ll send an address for a possible location on Felicity.” As if on cue, the phone vibrated and they looked at the screen. They immediately recognized the address.

William’s door opened and the boy peeked outside. “Dad?”

Oliver kneeled in front of him and grabbed his hands. “Buddy, I have to go.”

William’s eyes widened. “You’re leaving?”

“No, no… I mean, we…” He looked at John for advice and the man nodded encouragingly. “We may have found Felicity. We’re not sure, but… It’s the first real lead we have since she’s been taken and we need to go check it out.”

William nodded enthusiastically. “Go! Go and bring her home. I’ll stay with auntie Thea.”

Oliver nodded, got on his feet and kissed the top of his head.

He was going to get his wife back.

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Oliver gets closer at finding Felicity.  
> I feel generous, so I'll post next chapter tomorrow instead of monday! Yay!
> 
> Russian words (if there are mistakes it's Google Translate's fault):  
> Zdravstvuyte, Kapiushon. = Hello, Hood.  
> Spasibo, moy drug. = Thank you, my friend.
> 
> Soooooo... When I started this I didn't plan on turning off Felicity's chip, it was only about the letter with the clues and then saving Felicity, end of the story. But as I continued working on it, more and more ideas came to my mind and I had to write them!


	6. Where are you now, are you lost, will I find you again?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver gets closer at finding Felicity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here's another chapter and again... I'm sorry? *hides in a corner*
> 
> Chapter' title from "Hymn for the missing" by Red.

Felicity was furiously typing on the keyboard.

She just wanted for this to be over.

She was tired and everything hurt. Well, everything but her legs. She didn’t even feel them anymore. Just like the first time she’s been paralyzed.

Diaz was in the room, sprawled on the couch, toying with the remote that had made her even more vulnerable than before. But she could feel him staring at her.

“I’ve never liked her. She just wanted to be the center of attention.” He said, obviously wanting a reaction out of her. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of playing his games.

She briefly looked to her side. They took away Alena’s body, but they left the pool of blood, the smell was making her feel nauseous. She could still feel a few drops sticking to her face but she couldn’t wipe it away with her hands still cuffed to the table.

“You know, when she told me about that chip thing… I didn’t care about it, but I have to admit that it came in handy.”

He was about to say something else, when the door suddenly opened and a man ran down the stairs, stopping in front of Diaz.

“They’re coming!” He said out of breath and in a worried voice.

Felicity stopped typing and listened closely to the conversation.

Diaz sounded annoyed. “Who and why?”

“ARGUS! Our guys on the streets say that they are coming here, heavily armed and with at least three back up teams!”

At the word ARGUS Felicity felt hope for the first time since she’s been taken. John and Lyla were coming.

Out of anger, Diaz threw the remote against the wall smashing it. He just destroyed her chance to walk again.

 _No._ They were able to make her walk again after the shooting. And then again after Adrian Chase’s EMP. They’ll find a way to make her walk again. _Again_.

But now she didn’t have time to think about that. Because she heard Diaz tell the other man to get everyone ready for Plan B.

He was fuming. “I want everyone out of here and to the other base before they come barging in!”

_The other base._

Alena said something similar, something that got her killed because she said too much.

_“All he has to do is take you to your first lair and make you activate the device.”_

The first lair. The Foundry was the other base. The Markov device was at the Foundry.

And Plan B was to activate the device now, rather than later.

If they were going to take her away again she needed ARGUS to know where to find her this time. She needed to leave a message.

She couldn’t type it on the computer, Diaz would see it, so she looked around. She didn’t see anything that could be useful. Not that she’d be able to reach for anything with her hands still handcuffed to the table.

The handcuffs.

She knew it was risky and she could get caught, but she had to try.

So Felicity bit her lip to prevent a cry of pain and used the sharp edge of the cuffs to engrave the word on the table the best she could. She used the Morse Code again, just in case.

All the while Diaz kept barking orders at his men, who showed up shortly after the first man came in to give the alarm.

Felicity finished her mission and positioned the keyboard so it was hiding the message. She knew that John and Lyla will look for clues again, so she was sure they’ll find it even if it wasn’t in sight.

She focused back on what was happening around her when she heard Diaz talking about her. “And you take her there, I don’t have time to carry her around like a child.”

She wanted to yell at him that it was his idea to paralyze her, so he couldn’t really complain about it, but she was able to keep it for herself.

A man came closer to her and started to free her, but before she could let out a relieved sigh, the man put a new pair of handcuffs on her.

This was getting ridiculous.

“It’s not like I will fight my way out of here and run away!” She yelled at no one in particular.

Diaz nodded at the man, who then proceeded to tie a cloth around her mouth. She glared at Diaz with all she had. Then he turned around and ran upstairs.

 _Running away scared, now?_ She thought.

She could easily take off the gag if she wanted, but thought better of it. She didn’t want to infuriate them more.

The man picked her up. At least he was carrying her and didn’t put her on his shoulder like a caveman -something she kind of expected him to do. He carried her outside and put her in the back of a car, he even fastened the seatbelt for her.

When the car started to move, she looked out of the window and saw at least 30 ARGUS agents cross the street and then enter the building she was just in. The car was in a side alley, out of their sight, so she lost any hopes she had of them seeing her.

Tears pooled in her eyes when she spotted John and Lyla leading the agents. They were so close at finding her.

Then she realized she must be going crazy. Or hallucinating. Or the street lamps were playing tricks on her.

Because next to John she could swear she saw Oliver.

Yeah. She must be going crazy.

→

They were too late.

Oliver felt hope leave his body as soon as he saw the empty room.

And the blood. There was so much blood.

On the desk there was a pair of handcuffs attached to it and they were smeared with blood too. On a few spots -on both the desk and the handcuffs- he could see that the blood was dry, meaning it was old. But there were also wet stains on it. It was still fresh.

On the floor though…

On the floor there was a big pool of blood. And it was recent. Very recent.

Oliver knew that a person cannot survive after losing so much.

The sight of it made him feel sick. But he couldn’t look away. He couldn’t help but think that if he’d been faster, if he’d been more focused, if he’d tried harder… That blood wouldn’t be there.

A hand on his shoulder brought him back to the present.

“Oliver, don’t jump to conclusions. We don’t know what happened or who was here. It could be anyone’s.” John told him calmly, but he could hear the worry in his friend’s voice. “We’ll test it immediately.”

Oliver nodded and Lyla approached them with a bag in her hands.

“These are her clothes, I found them in the bathroom. She was here.”

Oliver looked around the room. “Okay.” He took a deep breath to concentrate. “Okay, we know she was here. If she was… If she was still alive when they left then I know she left another clue. Just like with the letter.”

He walked to the desk and, trying his best at ignoring the blood, he started to type on the computer. He had no idea of what he was doing, but he needed to do something. It didn’t help the fact that what was on the computer didn’t make sense to him, it was all that hacking thing he didn’t understand.

Frustration rising, he slammed his fist on the desk, causing everything on it to jump slightly.

“She left clues, I know she did.” He said, barely controlling his emotions.

“I know.” John said.

Then Lyla ordered to the agents “Look around, on those papers, the laptops, on the walls, under the couch, everywhere!”

All of them started to search, moving around things and even using UV flashlights.

“If her chip wasn’t working she had to sit.” Oliver whispered to himself. “And Diaz wanted her for the virus, so she had to use a computer.”

He looked at the desk. The bloody handcuffs were in front of a keyboard.

“She was the one sitting here.” He swallowed at the thought of Felicity cuffed to the desk, bleeding and paralyzed.

The only thing she could’ve reached with her hands tied was the keyboard, so he moved it and found what he was looking for.

..-. --- ..- -. -.. .-. -.--

“John!” He yelled, but the man was already there, looking at what he found.

“Felicity is at the Foundry.” Oliver stated, feeling hope come back into his body. Logically he knew that she could’ve wrote that before something happened, but he couldn’t dwell on it.

“Man, don’t take this the wrong way, but I love your wife.” John said smiling. “Let’s go get her back.”

Oliver never ran faster before.

→

When they carried her down the stairs she was suddenly hit by flashes of moments she spent down here.

Bringing here Oliver after his mother shot him.

Joining his crusade.

_If you’re not leaving, I’m not leaving._

_It’s my life, it’s my choice._

_He had you and he was going to hurt you. There was no choice to make._

_You’re my partner._

_You will always be my girl, Felicity._

_And the second thing?_

_I love you._

The man setting her on a chair brought her back to the present. It was Oliver’s chair, the one he used when they were down here. The one where she fell apart the last time she came to this place, after she saw him as Al Sah-Him.

Blinking back tears, Felicity looked around. The place was still a mess, nobody tried to clean it up. But it didn’t matter. Because a few feet away from her there was the Markov device.

It was off, but she shivered anyway, remembering the catastrophic effects it caused in the past. 503 people died because of a device like this.

And this time she had to activate it.

Diaz descended the stairs and came to a stop in front of her, he was distressed. Things weren’t going according to his plan apparently.

He was looking at her, glaring at her, and pointed an accusing finger.

“You…” He sighed. “You did something… You did, and then they found us. What did you do?!” He yelled.

Diaz obviously wanted her to talk so she removed the gag, her fingers trembling. “Nothing. If I did they would have found us in less than 24 hours after you kidnapped me.” She said.

And it was the truth, kind of. That time she didn’t specify where he was going to take her because she had no idea, it was just who and why.

But he was already shaking his head. “I don’t believe you.” Then he started to pace, deep in thought.

 “Okay… Let’s forget about the virus. I want you to activate this thing, _tonight._ And don’t try to buy yourself some time, because I’ll be watching your every move. And if I see something that I don’t like… Then you are dead. Understood?” He looked unpredictable.

“I can’t.” She whispered. “I don’t want to be the reason why half of the people in this city will die. I’d rather die than kill so many people.” _Again_ , her mind supplied. But she couldn’t be thinking about Havenrock right now.

He let out an angry scream and backhanded her, causing her to fall off the chair.

Felicity let out a whimper and she only had a second to put her hands in front of her, but she was able to at least soften the impact of the fall. The handcuffs dug deeply into her wrists and she was scared of the amount of blood oozing out of them. She was getting dizzy.

And her left cheek was on fire. The ring he wore on his hand had split the skin on her cheek and a trickle of blood was slowly making its way down her face.

She also lost her glasses and couldn’t see much, everything was blurry.

“You’ll do it! I don’t care if you don’t want to! I still rule this city and you’ll do as I say!” He kicked her in the stomach and she started having trouble breathing.

Felicity was in pain, but she was also very pissed off. “How can you rule a city when you’re hiding from it? And don’t tell me you really believe that the city will listen to you… They know what you did and they know that you’re nothing more than a thug with delusions of grandeur.”

“I am the king of this city!” He shouted.

He was about to kick her again, when a man came running in and yelled “They’re here! They must have followed us!”

Diaz quickly turned around, the gun in his hand appearing from nowhere, and shot the man in the head. “Why people are so incompetent?!”

He looked at her, put the gag on her mouth again and then grabbed her by the waist, holding her upright in front of him. Her back against his chest. The gun pointed at her head.

“If they come in here, guns blazing, the first thing they’ll shoot it’s gonna be you. You deserve it, after all.” He whispered in her ear.

She was basically a human shield.

The grip of his arm around her waist was so tight that it hurt where he just kicked her. She could also feel his hot breath on her neck and it made her feel sick. It didn’t help that she was already feeling dizzy because of the blood loss.

It didn’t take long for the door upstairs and the one that lead to the garage to slam open.

She saw people wearing black military gear in front of them, and without her glasses it took her a few seconds to recognize John and Lyla followed by their team.

And then she saw him.

Oliver stood in front of her, dressed in a simple white t-shirt, cargo pants and a black tactical vest. A gun in his hand, trained on Diaz.

And she knew that this time she wasn’t hallucinating, because Diaz’s next words were directed at him.

“Queen!”

→

Oliver was seeing red.

Diaz had Felicity against his chest, an arm around her waist and a gun to her head.

It was the fourth time that a mad man held her hostage like this.

The first was the Count. He tried to kill her with a lethal dose of Vertigo, instead he got three arrows in his chest.

The second was Slade. After he held a sword against her throat Felicity injected him with the cure.

And the third was Cooper. He held her almost exactly like Diaz was holding her now, with a gun at her head. Felicity had kicked Cooper’s ass.

But now she couldn’t do that.

She couldn’t because she was handcuffed, gagged and her legs were limp under her because the chip wasn’t working.

And she was hurt.

Her wrists and hands were completely covered in blood. There was a bruise forming on her left cheek, blood slowly trailing down from where the skin had split open. There was a nasty hand shaped bruise on her neck, a cut was there too. And Diaz was holding all of her weight because she couldn’t stand on her legs.

Oliver had his gun trained on Diaz, but he was hiding behind Felicity’s body, using her as a human shield.

_Coward._

“Get your hands off of her. Now.” Oliver’s voice was threatening, even more than when he wore the hood.

“And why would I do that? So you can shoot me? Do you think I’m an idiot?” He yelled.

“It’s over Diaz, we have you.” Lyla spoke in an authoritative voice. “Drop the gun and everyone will walk out of here alive.”

He laughed. “Well, not everyone can walk now, right Felicity?” She flinched at the way he said her name.

Oliver wanted to kill him even more now. That just confirmed that he was directly responsible for Felicity’s situation. He needed to pay for that.

“We had some fun in the last few days, didn’t we _baby_?”

Oliver’s grip on the gun tightened at the nickname and his hands shook in anger when Diaz’s lips grazed her neck.

Felicity flinched away from the touch, but she kept looking at Oliver and he stared back at her. A conversation between them.

When Diaz tightened his hold on her and she whimpered in pain, Oliver took a step closer but Diaz moved backwards.

“No, no, no… One more step and her brain ends up on the ceiling.” He threatened, and shoved the gun hard against her temple.

Oliver stayed where he was.

“And then what? You’ll be dead the moment you pull the trigger. You’d have no leverage.” John calmly said.

“You shut up!” He was getting agitated. “Now drop your gun, Queen. Actually, all of you, drop your guns.”

Diaz was struggling to keep her up with only one arm, her body basically a dead weight. Everyone noticed it.

“You know we won’t do that.” John said.

“You should be in prison.” He said to Oliver. “If you escaped to come here and you shoot me you’ll get the electric chair.” He was really out of his mind. They all knew that won’t be happening.

Felicity subtly nodded at Oliver. She had something in mind and it scared him. It scared him because this time she couldn’t disarm him like she did with Cooper, or hit him like with Slade. This time she was powerless.

But he knew that she needed him to trust her now. That’s what she was telling him.

To trust her.

So he took a deep breath and slowly put the gun down. His eyes never leaving hers.

“Oliver.” John said confused.

“Do as he says, John. We can’t let anything happen to her.” He said calmly.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw him hesitate. “John, please.”

He did as Oliver said and then with a wave of his hand gave the order to the agents to do the same. And they did. Lyla was the last one to put it down.

Now Diaz was the only armed man in the room.

Oliver held his hands out in a placating gesture. “Please don’t hurt her. Do whatever you want to me, but don’t hurt _her_.”

“That would kill you, wouldn’t it?” Diaz said around a smile. “I remember saying something like this to you a few months ago. I asked you what would hurt more. Me killing her in front of you… Or you in front of her. You never answered.”

Diaz looked at him expectantly. But Oliver didn’t spare him a glance. He only had eyes for his wife, who looked like she was waiting for something.

“Answer me!” Diaz was getting furious and Oliver wondered if he did the right thing when he said to John and the others to drop their guns.

Two seconds later a shot resounded in the foundry.

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Who gets shot and what's gonna happen.
> 
> I'll update on Tuesday... I told you I was going to hide in a corner!


	7. I just wanna keep calling your name until you come back home.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who got shot and what happens next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently it was very mean of me to end last chapter where I ended it... Tomorrow I won't be able to update this story and I'd feel bad to make you wait one more day, so I'll post it tonight!  
> Enjoy!
> 
> Chapter's title from "I don't wanna live forever" by ZAYN & Taylor Swift.

It happened so fast.

But at the same time those were the longest two seconds of their lives.

When Diaz yelled at Oliver to answer him he made a mistake. Because he pointed the gun at Oliver and he wasn’t aiming at Felicity anymore. In that moment three things happened at the same time.

The first, Oliver started to run towards them.

The second, Felicity threw her head back hitting Diaz.

The third, Diaz shot Oliver.

But he missed. Because Felicity head-butting him threw him off balance, so his aim was off and the bullet barely grazed Oliver’s right arm.

Diaz fell backwards, dragging Felicity down with him and Oliver reached out his hands to her but he was too far away.

As soon as they touched the floor, Felicity rolled to the side, out of Oliver’s way so he could take the gun from Diaz, finally disarming him. He noticed Diaz’s broken nose, and that made him proud of the woman he could call his wife. They started to wrestle but Oliver had the upper hand, and after hitting him in the face with the gun a couple of times he stayed on the ground.

Oliver turned, already reaching for Felicity when Diaz grabbed his ankle, a switchblade in his other hand.

Before he could stab him though, a gun went off and Diaz fell once again. This time with a bullet in his brain. Oliver turned and saw that everyone had retrieved their guns, but only two of them were aiming at Diaz.

John and Lyla. And when John put his hand on Lyla’s shoulder Oliver knew she was the one who made the shot. He quickly nodded at her and then he was kneeling next to Felicity.

“Hey.” He whispered. He put her in a sitting position and gently untied the cloth that went around her mouth.

“Oliver.” It was mix between a sigh and a sob. She wanted to ask him how he could be out of prison, but decided to do that later. Now she will focus on his soothing presence.

“Shh, it’s okay, I’m here. It’s over.” He sat behind her so he was supporting her while she leaned against his chest. He tenderly cradled her uninjured cheek with his left hand. “How do feel? Where are you hurt?”

“I feel dizzy, like I’m about to pass out.” She slowly blinked, then glanced down at her wrists that were still bleeding in her lap and she winced. “Those hurt a lot.”

He frantically looked around and saw John retreating a pair of keys from Diaz’s pocket.

“I got this.” Their friend said and carefully freed her hands.

A roll of gauze was being handed to Oliver by one of the agents. He took it and started to bandage her wrists.

“It’s the blood loss. Just keep breathing, okay? In from the nose and out through the mouth.” She nodded even though she was already doing it.

He wrapped the wounds the best he could and then checked her other injuries. He carefully wiped away the blood on her cheek, then prodded the bruising on her neck. He was so gentle that she didn’t even feel him and that made her tear up.

He noticed that and immediately stopped what he was doing. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt-”

“No, it’s not that. You didn’t hurt me, that’s the point.” And she smiled at him, it was a small one but it was still a smile and he understood what she meant to say.

Felicity looked around, her eyes locking on Diaz’s lifeless body. “Can we get out of here? I really don’t want to stay another minute.”

“Of course.” He was quick to say. He went to lift her but asked “Are you hurt anywhere else? I saw you wince when he was holding you.” The anger clear in his voice.

“Uh, my abdomen, he kicked me once.” She said quietly.

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to stay calm. If the son of a bitch wasn’t already dead Oliver would have kicked _him_ over and over again.

He reopened his eyes and looked at her. “What about your legs? Do they hurt? Your spine?” He asked putting a hand on her knee. She just shook her head no, and he knew she didn’t feel them at all.

“Okay, I’ll be as careful as I can. If something hurts you tell me, alright?” She nodded, put her left arm around his neck and he lifted her, bridal style.

As they made their way out of the foundry, they saw Lyla on the phone and John giving directions to the agents.

They were outside, Oliver carrying her to the car, when she suddenly asked “William! How is he? Did you see him? Is he okay?”

“He’s fine, don’t worry. I spent some time with him and I can assure you that he wasn’t hurt.” That calmed her a little, but she was still agitated.

“I’m sorry about the letter, Diaz made me write it and I-”

“He knows. He told me about your code word. That was very smart.” He said with a smile.

“So he’s not mad at me?” Felicity asked him with a hopeful voice.

“He’s not mad at you. He said that he knew the letter was fake since the first time he read it. He was just worried about you.” And she let out a relieved sigh knowing he didn’t hate her.

They arrived at the car and Oliver gently put her on the backseat. The blood loss and the adrenaline fading away left her feeling weak and Felicity swayed on the spot.

“Hey, hey.” He held her and she rested her head on his shoulder.

“It’s just dizziness. Give me a minute and I’ll be fine.” She told him weakly.

“Take it easy. I’ve got you.” He ran his fingers through her hair in a soothing way while she concentrated on her breathing.

It’s been so long since the last time they held each other and they both missed this. It didn’t matter what kind of circumstances brought them here, to this moment, all that mattered was that he found her and she was safe.

He was bringing her home.

“Thank you, it’s better now.”

“You sure? You can take all the time you need.” He studied her face.

“I’m fine, I promise.”

He gently laid her against the backseat and stood. He opened the front passenger’s door and retrieved a bottle of water. He resumed his position next to her and helped her drink it.

“I can still drink by myself, you know.” She said with a small smile.

“I know, but you almost passed out and I don’t want you to move your hands too much until those wounds are treated properly.” He told her and she nodded.

“Then can you help me get this off?” She said indicating the hoodie she was wearing. “It’s getting hot in here… And I’m aware that sounded like a double entendre but I blame it on the blood loss.”

He chuckled and then helped her. He also got rid of his vest and threw it on the seat next to them.

“So… You have my clothes in you dresser.” He’s been curious about that since the moment he found them.

“Yeah, you know… They make me feel safe.” She told him shyly.

“Yes, my shirts and hoodies. But what about my pants and boxers?”

Felicity hesitated. “It’s just…” She sighed. “I didn’t want to leave them behind, and I know it’s stupid but… I hoped that maybe, if I kept them where I lived, you’d come home. And I would’ve been ready to welcome you back with your own stuff. Just like with your ring.” She showed him the chain she kept around her neck.

He looked at it and smiled. But it didn’t reach his eyes and Felicity knew.

“You have to go back, don’t you?” She asked him sadly.

Oliver nodded.

“When?”

“Lyla was able to get me a deal. 96 hours. I’ve been out for around 15 hours, but… Watson said that if we found you before the time ran out I’d have to go back immediately.” He said looking into her eyes and saw that they were tearing up.

He put his left arm around her shoulders and his right hand gently grabbed both of hers, his thumb brushing against her wedding ring. He kissed the top of her head and she said “It’s not fair.”

“I know.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt.” Lyla said approaching the car, John next to her. “And for overhearing, even though you weren’t exactly whispering. But… I was on the phone with Slabside.”

Felicity tightened her hold on his hand and he ran his other hand along her arm, trying to give her some comfort.

“You have to take me back.” Oliver said, nodding resignedly.

“Well, I talked to Thomas. His superiors told him that ARGUS has complete jurisdiction over your temporary freedom. So I, as Director of ARGUS, told him that you’re going to spend the rest of your free time with your family. He agreed.” She said with a smile. John was smiling too.

Incredulous looks were on Oliver and Felicity’s faces.

“But… What about Watson? What she said about going back as soon as we found Felicity? The FBI-”

John stopped him. “Well, ARGUS is in charge of both Felicity’s missing case and your temporary freedom, so Watson has no word on this.” He said looking at Lyla with a proud smile.

Oliver and Felicity looked at each other and smiled. They could spend more time together, even if it was only for a little more than three days.

Felicity looked at Lyla. “Thank you. For everything.”

“You guys gotta stop thanking us. You’re all part of our family. We help each other.” She simply said.

“Okay. Now can you take us back to Will? I’m sure he’s going out of his mind.”

They both nodded and got in the car.

→

They spent the entire drive in silence, just enjoying each other’s presence. There was a lot to talk about, but they had the next three days for that.

They arrived at the safe house and John parked near the entrance.

“Are you ready?” Oliver asked Felicity and she nodded with a smile.

They got out of the car and he carried her through the door that Lyla held open. They entered the house and saw that the agents were already packing their things, but that wasn’t important. Their priority was William.

He carried her upstairs and entered her bedroom.

“Bed or chair?” He asked her.

“Chair, I need something to support my back right now.” He nodded and put her on the chair in front of her desk.

“Do you have your spare glasses here?” Oliver asked her.

“Yes, second drawer in the nightstand, the one on the left.”

He retrieved them and handed them to her. Felicity smiled at him when she was finally able to see him.

“That’s so much better. Thank you.”

He was about to lean down to kiss her, when they heard someone running into the room. They turned to look and saw William at the door with his eyes wide open. “Felicity?”

She smiled at him. “Hey, Will.” She said opening her arms to him.

He ran to her and hugged her. She winced when he held her a little too tightly and Oliver put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, hey. Easy, okay? You gotta be gentle with her for the next few days.”

William froze. “I’m sorry. Are you hurt?” He tried to pull away, but Felicity held him close to her, not wanting to let go just yet.

“No, it’s okay, I’ll be fine. Just don’t squeeze too hard, alright?” And she felt him nod against her shoulder.

They stayed like that for a few minutes while Oliver looked at them. His heart full of love at seeing his family together again.

When they let go William noticed her injuries. “Are you sure you’re okay? Don’t you need to go to the hospital?” He asked worriedly.

Someone knocked on the door, they saw John coming in followed by Elisa Schwartz.

“Sorry to interrupt, guys. I called Dr. Schwartz as soon as we found you and asked her to come here. She can get you checked out right now, if you’re up for it.”

Felicity nodded, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible. They both looked at William, and Oliver said “Buddy, why don’t you go with John in the meantime?” He didn’t need to know the details about what happened to her. They had to protect his innocence as much as they could.

William was about to protest, so Oliver added “I know you want to stay, but Dr. Schwartz needs to concentrate so she can help Felicity in the best possible way.”

“We’ll call you as soon as we’re over, okay?” Felicity told him, grabbing his hand and squeezing it.

He reluctantly nodded and after one more hug to Felicity he left with John, closing the door.

“Mr. Diggle told me what happened. I’m sorry about your kidnapping, Miss Smoak.” The doctor said looking at Felicity.

“I’m just glad it’s over.” And Oliver put a hand on her shoulder, giving her comfort and strength.

“Why don’t we move to the bed? That might be more comfortable.”

They both nodded and Oliver picked up Felicity, crossing the room and gently laid her down once he reached the bed.

The doctor started to check her injuries, one by one. Oliver stayed at Felicity’s side the entire time, sitting on the edge of the bed and holding her hand. Sometimes she winced when the doctor touched a painful spot and she’d squeeze Oliver’s hand, who in return would kiss her forehead.

Oliver had to close his eyes and take a deep breath to calm down when he saw her abdomen. It was already bruising from the kick.

But what enraged him the most was when she described how she got the hand shaped bruise on her neck.

“I had just taken a shower and he showed up…” She saw Oliver look at her with terrified eyes so she was quick to reassure him. “He didn’t do anything… like that. He just grabbed me by the neck and slammed me against the wall. Then he left. Nothing happened, I swear.”

After hearing that, Dr. Schwartz asked “So I won’t need a kit for-”

“No. _No, I swear_.”

Oliver and Felicity stared at each other, a conversation going on without words being spoken out loud.

When Oliver was finally convinced that nothing more happened, he kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes, sighing in relief that she wasn’t hurt more than what they could see.

“Okay. Everything should heal in a few weeks. Your wrists, though, you need to take good care of those to prevent infections. I can’t do anything for the paralysis, this kind of technology is too advanced for me, so I suggest to ask to the person who created it.” She gathered her things. “Don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Dr. Schwartz.” Felicity said.

“I think we’re to a point where you can simply call me Elisa.” She said smiling.

“Only if you call us Felicity and Oliver.”

“Alright, Felicity.”

Then she left and when they were alone Oliver scoffed.

“What?” Felicity asked him.

“We’ll have to ask Curtis to fix your chip…” He sighed. “When you were missing, he called John and suggested to hack it so we could find you. I didn’t want to do it, because I didn’t want to cause you pain, like it happened with John. We also didn’t know if it was going to work, and what if it did but you were running away from Diaz? You would’ve been vulnerable without the use of your legs.” He stopped to calm down and Felicity squeezed his hand. “But John said that before calling, Curtis had already hacked it and found it offline.”

They were silent for a few moments, then Oliver looked at her and asked “Are you okay?”

She sighed. “I don’t really know how to feel about this. For now I just want to hug William again, take a decent shower to wash away all the blood and sleep in a bed for the first time in a week.” She said with a small smile.

“I’ll go get him.” He kissed the top of her head and left the room.

Not a minute later he came back, William holding a tray with a cup of tea and a plate of cookies on it.

Felicity smiled at him and asked “What is this about?”

“Well, John said that he didn’t know when was the last time you ate something, and it’s really late so I suggested that cookies might be better than a full meal and he agreed.” He said with a proud smile.

Both Oliver and Felicity smiled at him. “That was very thoughtful of you. Thank you.” She told him.

William put the tray on the nightstand, while Oliver helped Felicity in a sitting position.

When they were done they saw William staring at them.

He stared at her unmoving legs with an unreadable expression.

Oliver and Felicity shared a quick look and they nodded at each other.

“Sweetheart, why don’t you come sit here for a minute?” Felicity said extending her arm at him.

He stayed where he was. “What is wrong with your legs?” He whispered.

“I… Do you remember when you asked me about that photo you found a while ago? The one of me and your dad, where I was in a wheelchair?” The one they took at their engagement party.

He nodded. “You said that you got hurt and had to use the wheelchair for a while.”

“Yes. A… Bad man wanted to- uh…” Oliver saw her struggling to find the right words to explain this to him.

“Buddy… Do you remember Damien Darhk?” He wasn’t sure if reminding him of the man that kidnapped him years ago was a good idea, but he deserved to know the entire story.

William just nodded.

“Well, I was running for mayor years ago and he didn’t like that. So he tried to stop me by attacking us. Felicity got shot and the bullet hurt her, badly.”

“I lost the use of my legs. Couldn’t move them and couldn’t feel anything from the waist down.” She told him gently. He kept staring at them, like he was afraid that if he looked away they’d move.

“But then a friend of ours invented a bio-stimulant, a chip… Doctors implanted it in my spine and I was able to walk again.”

He looked her in the eyes then. “Those things you and Curtis were trying to create a company about?”

“Yeah.”

“But now it’s not working anymore?”

“No. We don’t know exactly what… Diaz has done to it, but it’s not working.” She said quietly.

“So… You can’t walk… Then how are you gonna do things now?” He scrunched up his face thinking hard.

Oliver got closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “William, many people live years, some their entire life, on a wheelchair and they can accomplish amazing things.” He looked at Felicity. “Those people are strong and don’t let anything, _anything_ , to bring them down.” She smiled at him.

“Come here, Will.” She opened her arms again and this time he didn’t hesitate and went to hug her.

She held him tightly and whispered “If I’ll never walk again… I’ll have to do things differently, but it doesn’t mean that my life is over just because I can’t use my legs. I’ll find a way to adapt to my situation. I already did it once, I can do it again. Okay?”

He nodded and said “I love you, Felicity. Nothing will change that.”

She felt tears run down her cheeks and as she looked at Oliver she saw that his eyes were watery too.

William’s words reminded them a moment they shared years ago in an hospital room.

_For better or for worse._

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Felicity's first night (and morning) back with her family.
> 
> There it is. Diaz is dead.  
> Sooooooo... Now we can focus on the second part of this story. And let me tell you, I'm super excited for the next chapter!


	8. And we danced all night in the shadows.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity's first night (and morning) back with her family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidentally deleted this chapter, so I'm re-posting it again.  
> It's still the same as before, I haven't changed it.
> 
> About the chapter: I don't want to spoil too much, but there's a tag I haven't used yet and the fic is rated M for a reason.
> 
> Chapter's title from "Affair" by Hurts.

Felicity and William were lost in their hug, Oliver looking at them with a small smile, when there was a knock on the door causing the three of them to turn around.

Thea, Roy and John were standing there.

“Hey, guys. Come in.” Oliver told them, gently tapping William on the shoulder to let him know to give Felicity some space.

He didn’t go very far, though. He stood but kept a hold on Felicity’s hand. She was very okay with it.

“Felicity,” Thea said coming closer, “John told us what happened, how are you feeling?”

“I’m… Well, I’ve been better.” She told them truthfully. “I’m glad to see you, guys.”

Thea sat on the bed and hugged her.

It was kind of a weird hug, with Felicity still holding William’s hand and Thea barely resting her arms on Felicity’s shoulders, trying not to hurt her, but they both felt the love they had for each other.

They pulled away and Felicity saw Roy awkwardly waving at her.

“Hey, Scarecrow.”

They both laughed at the nickname. “I’m sorry this happened to you.” He told her while he took Thea’s place to quickly hug her.

“I’ll be fine. I have amazing people around me who are already taking good care of me.” She said, looking at every single person in the room, making sure they knew she meant all of them.

John cleared his throat. “I talked to Lyla, and we think that for the next three days you should stay here. No need to waste precious time moving out of here.” He said looking at Oliver.

He didn’t know how to thank him, so he went to hug his friend.

When William yawned, Thea spoke up. “I think we all should go get some rest, it’s late.”

Not wanting to leave just yet, William said “I’m not tired, I can stay with Felicity and dad.”

But they all knew he was exhausted.

“Sweetheart, you need to sleep. It won’t do you any good if you’re dead on your feet.” Felicity told him gently and when he was about to protest again she added “I promise I’ll still be here when you’ll wake up. The same goes for your dad.”

“Yeah, buddy. Tomorrow we’ll spend the entire day with you. How does that sound?”

He smiled. “It sounds good.” Then an idea crossed his mind and his eyes widened. “Dad, can you cook us pancakes? Please!” Making everybody laugh.

“Tomorrow, buddy. After you’ll have slept for a good eight hours.” Oliver said pointedly.

“Okay.” He went to hug Oliver, and then Felicity once again.

He started to walk towards the door but stopped and said “I love you both. Very much.” And smiled at them.

“We love you too, sweetheart. Goodnight.” Felicity told him.

“We love you.” Oliver added with a smile.

He left, Thea and Roy following him with a “Goodnight, guys.”

John stayed to tell Felicity “I’ll make sure to bring a wheelchair tomorrow so you can go around the house more freely.”

“Thank you, John. I appreciate everything you did and that you’re still doing.”

“Anything for my family.” He said with a smile. Then he left, quietly closing the door behind him.

It was just the two of them.

Oliver sat on the edge of the bed, taking her hand in his. “How are you feeling? Any pain?”

She shook her head no.

He looked down at her wrists. “I should change these bandages, it looks like they’re still bleeding.”

“Can I take a shower before you do that? I really need to wash away today’s events.” She asked him hopefully.

He thought about it for a minute. “I don’t think this shower is suitable for your condition… But I think we can find a way to make this work.” He went to the door and opened it.

“Where are you going?” She asked him confused.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be right back.” He winked at her and left.

Felicity started to undress. She took off her shirt, leaving the bra on -just in case someone else came back- and was working on taking the jeans off when Oliver entered the room, carrying a folding chair.

“Hey, careful. Don’t strain your wrists.” He said, leaving the chair on the floor and reaching for her jeans.

“I can do it.” She waved his hands away.

“I know, but your cuts-”

“I said I can do it!” She repeated in a loud voice.

He stayed there, half sitting on the bed and half kneeling on the floor, hands extended towards her but not touching.

Her hands froze mid movement. She just realized what she’s done. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to-”

“Hey, don’t apologize.”

“No, yes I have to.” Felicity took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. “I know you are trying to take care of me and I appreciate it, a lot. It wasn’t fair talking to you like that.”

Oliver fully sat next to her and took her hands in his. “It doesn’t matter. It’s been a long and stressful day, a week for you, and your situation isn’t helping. I understand.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s just… The first time I’ve been left paralyzed I had to deal with it. Then there was the chip and I could walk again. Last time, after Chase’s EMP, I didn’t really had the time to think about it because, you know, our lives were at stake. And today was the same, but now… When you left the room I stopped and thought about it. I realized that I might never walk again- _again_.” She had tears in her eyes and Oliver didn’t waste a second and went to hug her.

“I think this time you feel differently about it because there’s William.”

Felicity thought about it. “I guess, yeah. I mean, you’ll have to… go back and he’ll be stuck with me on a wheelchair for who knows how long. Maybe this time for the rest of my life. And I’ll be okay with it, as I said I’ll adapt. But there’s him to think about now.” He ran his hands on her back in a comforting gesture.

“You’ll be amazing, wheelchair or not. I know you and I know you’ll find a way to still be the wonderful badass woman I married.” He told her, gently kissing the side of her head.

“Thank you.” It was barely above a whisper but he heard it and just nodded.

“What about that shower now?”

“Yeah. And… Could you help me with the jeans? My wrists really did hurt when I tried earlier.” She told him quietly.

He did and when she was only wearing a bra and her panties he looked at her worriedly. “You lost weight.”

“Yeah, I didn’t eat much during this week. Not that they cared if they ‘forgot’ to bring me lunch for a couple of days.”

“When was the last time you ate?” Oliver asked, afraid of her answer.

She thought about it. “Maybe yesterday? Or two days ago… I’m not sure about it, every day looked the same.”

He sighed. “Do you want to eat something now?”

“I’m not sure I can keep it down at the moment and I don’t want to spend the night in the bathroom. But in the morning I’ll start to get back on track, I promise.”

“Okay.”

He carried Felicity to the bathroom and sat her on the counter next to the sink while he retrieved the chair and put it in the shower. He went to get some clean clothes and then he undressed.

Felicity gasped when she saw him naked.

His chest was covered in bruises and there was a new scar on his right hip. His back wasn’t that different, a few cuts were still healing.

“Oliver.” She whispered.

“It’s okay, I’ll be fine.”

“Oliver, this is not okay.” Felicity’s hand running over the bruises ever so gently that he didn’t feel her, just the warmth emanating from them. “You shouldn’t have to go through this, when all you did was protecting this city, trying to do some good.”

He grasped her hands in his and held them over his heart. “I also did some bad things, things that I’m not proud of. But they come with a price. This is that price.”

Felicity looked him in the eyes. He really thought he deserved this, that he needed to be punished for his actions.

“Yes, your methods were wrong, at the beginning, but you’ve changed. I don’t remember you ever killing anyone innocent or just for fun.”

He adverted his eyes. “Billy-”

“Was not your fault. Chase fooled you.” Felicity grabbed his face and made him look at her. “Please tell me you don’t still believe what he made you say.”

 “No. I know that I told him what he wanted to hear, what he wanted me to say. But you know… It doesn’t change that I still killed people, and it was wrong.”

Oliver was quiet for a few moments, their eyes saying what their mouths didn’t speak.

“Come on, let’s take this shower so we can sleep. Okay?”

She nodded and he helped her get rid of her underwear.

Oliver sat her on the chair in the shower and he started to wash her hair so she won’t strain her wrists.

The setting wasn’t the best and it was kind of awkward, with the chair occupying almost the entire shower stall, but they made it work.

After they finished, he helped her to put on the clean clothes. He wore only a pair of boxers and she wore one of his shirts.

Oliver sat her on the counter again and took care of her injuries. He cleaned the cut on her cheek, the one on her neck and then wrapped her wrists with a clean gauze.

“They’re gonna scar, aren’t they?” Felicity asked him quietly, looking down at them as he gently worked.

“Probably. But you’ll have to see them as a sign of your strength, of what you survived, that you fought ’till the end.”

It was what she used to tell him about his scars and she smiled at him.

He leaned down and tenderly kissed both of her bandaged wrists, making her tear up again. “Okay?”

Looking into his eyes Felicity nodded and smiled a little.

He then carried her to the bed and after some maneuvering, they found the perfect position to finally rest.

Oliver on his back and Felicity tucked against his side, her cheek resting on his shoulder and his arms around her in a protective embrace.

One minute later they were fast asleep.

→

Oliver woke up slowly, the sun bathing the room with light.

He looked down and saw Felicity still asleep, a peaceful expression on her face. He was glad to see that she could finally get the rest she needed.

During the night he had to wake her twice because she was having a nightmare. She was able to fall asleep again immediately after, but the thought that ghosts haunted her even in dreams broke his heart.

She was hugging his torso, one hand resting over his heart and her leg thrown over his for a much more comfortable position. One of his hands was on that leg keeping it there, while the other rested on top of her head.

The position reminded him of late mornings when they used to wake up like this. His body reacted to the memories and he took deep breaths to calm down.

He was focused on his breathing when she spoke.

“What’s wrong?” Voice still coated with sleep. A frown formed on her face when she saw him trying to calm down. “Did you have a nightmare?”

Oliver let out a strained laugh. “No, definitely not.” And pointedly looked down.

She followed his gaze and saw the bulge, covered by the sheets but still noticeable.

“Oh.” Her lips forming a perfect circle. She was trying to kill him.

He groaned at the sight, then tried to put some distance between their bodies, but she clung to him and didn’t let go.

“No, no, where are you going? Stay, it’s okay.” She rushed to tell him. He stopped his movements but didn’t look her in the eyes. She noticed it.

“Hey, talk to me. You never reacted like this when it happened in the past.”

“Because…”

She put a hand on his cheek, turning his face so he’d look at her.

“I can’t look at you right now and think straight. I miss you, Felicity. I miss us, I miss the way I felt when we kissed. I miss making love to you.” He told her quietly.

“You can make love to me now.” She smiled at him, but he didn’t smile back.

“I can’t.” He was shaking his head.

“Hey… Is this because of the paralysis?” When he didn’t respond she had her answer. “Oliver, you do remember that we made love when I was paralyzed in the past, right?” He nodded. “Then what is the problem this time?”

“You are hurt. You have cuts and bruises and you’re hurt. What if I hurt you even more just because I can’t control a boner?” He asked her exasperatedly.

“You won’t hurt me.” It was said with conviction and love.

“You don’t know that. I might hurt you and you wouldn’t even feel it. I might make your injuries worse.” He looked away again.

She turned his face once more and waited until he opened his eyes again. “You won’t hurt me. You’ve never hurt me before the paralysis and you’ve never hurt me after it. And you know that I can still feel something.”

He shook his head but she could see him starting to give in. “You couldn’t get an orgasm while paralyzed.”

Felicity laughed at that. “You seriously think that I made love to you because I wanted an orgasm?”

“No, I know it was more than that, but-”

“No but, Oliver. I’ve never made love to you because I wanted an orgasm. I mean, yeah those were… wow!” She made a face to prove her point and he chuckled. She was getting through him. “I made love to you because I wanted to feel a connection between us, it was a feeling that was even deeper than the act itself. It was like our souls found each other in that moment. And it was everything.” She told him gently.

He was quiet for a while. Staring into her eyes he only found love. “Are you sure?” She nodded. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to let me do this. I don’t want to take advantage of your situation-”

“Stop.” She told him sternly. “Stop that. You’re not taking advantage of anything. Just like I don’t feel like I have to let you do this. I want you to do this. I want to feel that connection. And I… I miss the way you looked at me when we made love. I just miss you.”

He leaned down then. His lips touched hers in a gentle kiss for the first time in months. She opened her mouth and he let his tongue slip inside, touching hers. The kiss became more heated, and their hands started to explore each other.

Oliver had one hand on her hip holding her close to his side, the other one in her hair. Felicity’s hand moved away from his chest, directed south, and his breathing quickened when he felt it going under the sheets.

She palmed him through the boxers and he groaned out loud at the sensation. Her movements slow and tantalizing, his hips following her hand.

He tore away his mouth, “We’ll never get any further if you keep doing that. It’s been way too long.” His voice low, laced with lust. She just squeezed him in response and he groaned, “Felicity.”

“I like when you say my name like that.” She kissed him behind his ear, just where she knew he was sensitive.

“Like what?” His hand traced her body, went under the shirt and rested under her breast.

“Like you want me more than anything.” She said above a whisper.

“Because I want you more than anything.”

Oliver grabbed her breast, and she moaned. He gently flicked her nipple and she almost screamed, stopping just in time to remember that they weren’t alone in the house.

So she bit her lip at the sensation. The sensitivity of her breast compensating what she couldn’t feel below her waist.

He slowly turned them, Felicity on her back, legs slightly apart to accommodate his body. But he stayed on his elbows, his lips the only part of his body touching hers.

Her hands, however, roamed over his back, never stopping when she’d find a scar.  On the contrary, she’d caress them over and over again, letting him know that she cherished his body, imperfections and everything.

He leaned back, sitting on his heels, so he was kneeling between her legs. Felicity whimpered at the loss of contact and he chuckled. He started to undo the buttons of her - _his_ \- shirt, one by one, never breaking eye contact. She licked her lips in anticipation.

When he was done with the shirt, he crawled back to her, this time gently resting his body on top of hers. He passionately kissed her, the friction of his chest against her bare breast making her moan.

Oliver started to kiss down her neck, slowly making his way down and took her right nipple in his mouth. Her hands found his head, fingers running through the hair and holding him against her.

She looked down at him and he was already watching her. His right hand was trailing down her left side until it rested on her hip, fingers hooking in the band of her underwear.

Felicity nodded and Oliver dragged them down until he took them off, the entire time sucking and licking the nipple in his mouth.

His hand returned to her hip and Felicity grabbed his wrist, squeezing once and he knew what to do.

Before having sex, after the shooting, they made researches. They found out that visual stimulation in many cases helped the paralyzed to enjoy more the act of love. And that’s what he was going to do now.

Slowly he trailed his hand over her navel where she could still feel him and then went south. He used one finger to feel her and he knew that she wasn’t wet enough. Her body not responding like it used to.

So he kissed his way down. From her breast to her abdomen -being careful to the bruising there- and then to her navel. His eyes never leaving hers.

Felicity nodded again, telling him it was okay, and then he covered her with his mouth. She couldn’t feel him like she used to, the sensation seemed far away, like when you’re underwater, but it was there, something was there.

Oliver moaned at finally being able to taste her again. His right hand found her nipple and played with it, while the left gripped her ass.

He licked her, getting her wet so he won’t hurt her when he entered her. Staring at her he knew she was turned on, even if she couldn’t feel everything she enjoyed watching him while he devoured her.

When she tugged on his hair he crawled back to her. Oliver kissed her and she moaned when she tasted herself on his tongue. Her hands were frantic, trying to take off his underwear and he quickly got rid of them.

He stared into her eyes and groaned when Felicity grabbed him and pumped a few times.

“You ready?” His voice wavering.

“I’m ready.”

He positioned himself at her entrance and then gently pushed in. He stopped halfway in, making sure she was okay and at her nod he pushed all the way in.

He stayed there for a moment, the feeling of her around him making him sigh.

“It feels really good having you inside me.” Felicity told him with a smile.

Oliver let out a breathy chuckle and asked “You can feel me?”

“Yeah, not like the other times, but something yeah.”

Oliver leaned down to kiss her and then moved. His thrusts were slow and careful, and Felicity never felt so much loved before.

He wrapped his arms around her and she held him tightly. His hips the only part of his body moving away from her, only to come back after a second.

She moaned when he thrust a little harder and he froze worried.

“No, no, I liked it. It actually felt good. Really good.” He stayed there, looking into her eyes and not moving an inch.

“Please, Oliver. Please do that again.” She was begging now, so he carefully did it again. Hard but not too much to hurt her. She moaned again.

He kept this pace for a while and could feel he was getting close.

“Felicity.” It was a desperate whimper, but he didn’t care. The sensations too good to feel ashamed of it.

His movements became frantic. “I can’t- I can’t hold on much longer.” He panted.

“It’s okay, baby.” She told him kissing his neck and tightening her embrace. “Come for me.”

A couple of thrusts and he came inside of her. He groaned at the feeling, his hips unable to stop for a long time.

When his body finally relaxed he couldn’t keep himself up anymore and he crashed on top of her. He tried to roll away, but she held him there, not wanting to let go just yet.

So they stayed like that for a few minutes. With Felicity running her fingers through his hair and Oliver panting on her chest.

“I’m sorry you couldn’t-”

“Shh.” She interrupted him. “It was perfect. And I enjoyed it. As I told you before, it’s not for the orgasms that I make love to you.”

After a few moments he slipped out of her, kissed her on the lips and went to the bathroom. He came back with a warm cloth and cleaned her up. Then went back under the covers and spooned her from behind, holding her tightly against his chest.

“Thank you.” He whispered.

“You don’t have to thank me. I was an active participant, you know.”

He smiled at that. “I know, but it wasn’t just for that.” He paused and she squeezed his hand, asking him to continue. “Thank you for being the amazing person that you are, thank you for marrying me. Thank you for being in my life.” He kissed the top of her head.

“No place I’d rather be.” And kissed their joined hands before resting them over her heart. “I love you, Oliver.”

“I love you, Felicity.”

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Oliver, Felicity and William spend the day together, but things don't go smoothly.
> 
> There you have it. This is my first time writing smut, so I'm kinda nervous about this chapter. Let me know what you think!


	9. All my agony fades away when you hold me in your embrace.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver, Felicity and William spend the day together, but things don't go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a new chapter! Enjoy your reading.
> 
> Title from "All I need" by Within Temptation.

William woke up late.

He was sure it was late because too much light illuminated his room. The clock on the wall confirmed it. 2:07 pm. Which was normal, since they all went to bed well after 4 am.

He started his routine.

He got up, brushed his teeth, washed his face and chose what clothes to wear today. He was putting on his shirt, when he remembered the last few days, and in particular last night.

William rushed out of his room and slammed open the door on the other side of the corridor. He found Felicity’s room empty, the bed neatly made.

He heard noises coming from downstairs. Running and almost tripping on his own feet, he entered the open space and stopped.

He saw Felicity sitting at the table and Oliver moving around in the kitchen. They both turned around when they heard him stepping into the room.

“Hey, buddy.”

His dad was there, because he was temporarily out of prison. And Felicity was there too, because they found her. The last 24 hours weren’t a dream.

“Hi.” It was the only thing he could say, still registering the scene in front of him. It was something that happened often in the past, his dad cooking and Felicity watching him.

“Good afternoon, sweetheart.” When he didn’t move from his spot, Felicity indicated the chair beside her. “We were waiting for you.” She smiled at him and he went to sit next to her.

“You’re both really here, right?” His voice barely above a whisper and his eyes shifted from one to the other, as if they’d disappear at any moment.

Felicity took his hand and he saw Oliver walking towards them.

“We’re really here, Will. It’s okay now.”

Oliver kneeled on his other side and put his arm around William’s shoulders. “She’s right. We promised you that we’d spend the day together. The three of us. And that’s what we’re gonna do. For the next three days.”

He nodded and smiled at them. “What did you make for breakfast?”

Ruffling his son’s hair and getting up, Oliver went back to get the food. “Since it’s well past 2 pm, I thought we could have more than just breakfast. We have scrambled eggs, bacon, french toast, fruit, bread, butter, jam and… Pancakes, as requested.”

He put the plates on the table as he listed them and smiled at William’s surprised face.

They ate in comfortable silence, just a few words here and there. They were all just happy to spend some time together, doing something normal like eating.

“Felicity, you never told me that story. When you and dad met.”

Oliver and Felicity looked at each other and smiled.

“Do you mean when we met as Oliver and Felicity or as Arrow and Overwatch?”

He thought for a moment. “Both.”

Oliver chuckled and Felicity shook her head in amusement.

“Well…” She started. “I was working at Queen Consolidated, your father’s ex company, at that time.”

“I was investigating on a bad guy and needed information from a damaged laptop, so I asked my stepfather-”

“My boss.” She clarified.

“Her boss, and he told me to ask for her help. I showed up at her office and she started to babble.” He smiled at her, remembering perfectly the day.

“Well, you were my boss’s stepson, I was nervous.” Felicity defended herself and Oliver raised an eyebrow at her, knowing it wasn’t just that. She was attracted to him and that made her nervous too.

“Anyway, I explained my problem and gave her the laptop.”

“He said he spilled a latte on it… When there were bullet holes!” She exclaimed and William laughed.

“No! What kind of lie is that, dad?”

“Oh, wait until you hear his next lie. I pointed out that there were bullet holes and his answer was _‘My coffee shop is in a bad neighborhood’_.” She imitated his deeper voice and everyone laughed.

Oliver looked at William who was still smiling. “In my defence, there was something about Felicity that made me trust her, knowing she wouldn’t turn me in to the police. So I didn’t really care about what lie I said at the time.” He smiled lovingly at his wife, but she wasn’t done.

“Oh, don’t even get me started on the energy drink thing. That time I seriously thought you took me for an idiot.”

“Never.”

“What energy drink thing?” William asked confused.

“Uh, maybe we should put this off until you’re a little older.” Oliver said, not wanting to discuss drugs right now and how wrong it was to use them.

“Does it have something to do with the time you told her you were a masked superhero?”

Oliver smiled at his words. “No, buddy. That… That time I was hurt, badly and Felicity saved my life. Literally.”

“I found him in my car, he told me to bring him to John and together we saved him.”

In that moment, Felicity’s phone rang, interrupting the story.

“Hello? Oh, hi John. We were just talking about you.” She listened to what the other man had to say. “Yeah, no, okay… No, it’s not a problem, really. It’s not that important.” She sounded sad and Oliver took her hand, silently asking what was wrong.

“Sorry, John, just a second please.” She looked at Oliver and explained. “There’s an emergency in Star City, nothing they can’t deal with, but he can’t come here to bring me the wheelchair.”

She shook her head and shrugged, but he knew she was a little disappointed.

“Tell him I’ll go get it. I’ll borrow one of the agents’ cars.” He simply told her.

She did. “Thank you, John.” Then hung up and looked at Oliver. “He said you can get it at ARGUS, but Oliver, really, I can live a few hours without it.”

“Hey.” He tightened his hand around hers. “I know that. But I also know that you don’t want to rely on me every single time you want to move around. I’d gladly help you the entire day, but I know you like to be independent.” He paused and stared into her eyes. “Am I wrong?” He asked with a knowing smile.

“You know me too well.” She responded with a smile of her own.

He stood and went on the other side of the table, leaning down he pressed a quick kiss on her lips and whispered “I love you.”

Then he turned to William and kissed the top of his head. “I love you too, buddy.”

“I love you, dad.” He opened his arms and Oliver hugged him. They missed this so much.

Then he went to the door. “I’ll be as fast as I can. William, please, behave and help Felicity if she needs anything, okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“See you soon, Oliver.”

And he left. The house filled with silence once again. But this time it was less welcomed. This time both William and Felicity felt an emptiness overtake them.

William had a lost expression on his face while he stared at the door and Felicity tried to reassure him. “Hey. He’ll be fine, less than half an hour and he’ll be back. We still have time with him.” He nodded and she went to hug him.

They lost track of the time they stayed like that, but it was a long time until William broke the silence.

“Felicity, can I ask you something?” He asked shyly.

“Of course you can.”

“That chip you have…” He shifted uncomfortably in her arms, unsure if he could talk about that.

She kissed the top of his head to reassure him. “What about it?”

“Do you think it can be fixed just by hacking it? Or you’ll need a surgery?”

She thought about it for a minute. “I honestly don’t know. I hope I’ll be able to fix it myself, but I can’t be sure about it. I’ll have to try.”

“Then why don’t you try to fix it now?”

She rubbed her hands up and down his back in a comforting gesture. “Because it takes time and I don’t want to waste it and work on something I can do in a few days. Right now I need to focus on you and Oliver. I’ll have time later. Okay?”

“Yeah, I get it, but what if…” When he didn’t continue she made him look at her, but he wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“Hey, talk to me.” She told him gently.

He shook his head and abruptly stood. “I’ll clean up the table.”

She tried to grab his hand but he quickly dodged her.

“Whoa, hey, come here, Will.”

He ignored her and went to put the dishes in the sink. She didn’t know what to do.

“Will. What is it?” He shook his head. “Did I say or do something wrong?”

He had his back to her but she could see his shoulders shaking. He was crying.

“What did I do to upset you?” She thought about their exchange but couldn’t think of anything. He shook his head again.

“Sweetheart, please, come here… I c- I can’t get to you.”

That was the wrong thing to say, because he dropped the glass he had in his hand and it shattered in the sink. William turned around, tears streaming down his face and his eyes full of terror. His breaths were quick and his hands were shaking.

“That’s t- you… I d- I don’t… I-” He grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled it away from his body, his breathing was getting worse and beads of sweat were forming on his forehead.

He was having a panic attack.

“William, listen to me, listen to my voice, okay? You have to breathe, slow deep breaths.” Felicity was doing her best at staying calm, her brain trying to find a way to get him closer to her.

When he leaned against the counter and slid down to the floor, she didn’t think. She threw herself on the floor, ignoring the pain on her wrists, and crawled to him.

The situation reminded her of that time she and Oliver were trapped in the bunker and she had to do the exact same thing to get to him. She was worried that William would pass out, just like it happened to Oliver that time.

Using all of her strength, Felicity dragged herself closer to him as fast as she could. When she reached him, she put her left hand on his cheek and the right on his chest, over his heart. It was racing.

“Will, it’s okay. You’re safe, nothing bad is going to happen. I’m here, okay?”

He grabbed her arms and frantically looked around, disoriented. “I… What is happening?” His voice was so scared that she felt her own chest tightening.

“It’s a panic attack. But you don’t have to be scared, it’s going to pass. You just have to breathe, okay?”

Suddenly Oliver was there crouching next to them. His eyes taking in everything that was going on. He mimicked his wife’s position, one hand on top of hers, over his son’s heart, and one on his left cheek.

“It’s okay, William. We are here with you. Breathe with us. Four seconds in… Four seconds out. Again.”

They all breathed together. Oliver and Felicity kept whispering soothing words to him. Their hands never leaving their son’s chest and cheeks.

It took them a while but they were able to calm him down.

Now he was just sniffling. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, there’s nothing to be sorry for.” Felicity gently told him.

“Things like this just happen, buddy. It’s not your fault. And it’s not something you have to be ashamed of.”

Their calm behaviors seemed to have the desired effect, because both his breathing and heartbeat were back to normal.

William looked up in the direction of the sink. “I think I broke something.”

“You got hurt?” Oliver asked, already checking him for injuries.

“No.”

“Then it doesn’t matter. What matters is how you’re feeling.” His eyes staring deeply into his son’s.

He nodded. “Better.”

Both Oliver and Felicity let out a relieved sigh.

William tried to get up, but his legs were shaking. “Easy, buddy. Where are you going?” Oliver stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Uh, the couch. I want a blanket, I feel cold.” His voice unsure of what was happening to him.

Felicity ran a hand through his damp hair. “Yeah, that’s one of the effects of the panic attack. You sweat and then you get cold.”

She looked at Oliver and nodded. Silently telling him to take care of him, that she was okay.

He helped his son on his feet, holding one arm around him making sure he won’t fall and lead him to the couch. William sat and Oliver covered him with a blanket. “I’ll be right back here.” And kissed his forehead.

He went back to Felicity, who was trying to get to them, wincing every time she put her weight on her wrists.

“Hey, let me help you.” He kneeled next to her. He waited for her nod before picking her up, not wanting to upset her, but she must have strained herself too much getting to William. So he sat her on the couch instead of the wheelchair, which he abandoned near the door.

He sat her down and looked at the bandages on her wrists, there was blood on them. The cuts opened again.

“Later.” She whispered following his line of sight.

They left William between them, making sure he felt safe this way. Oliver ran his hands up and down his arms, trying to give him some warmth and Felicity took both of the kid’s hands in hers.

“Do you want to tell us what made you upset? What scared you?” Oliver gently asked him.

“We were talking about her chip.” William looked at Felicity, making sure he could talk about it. And at her nod he continued. “I wanted to know if she could try to fix it… But she’s not sure about it, so that made me think that maybe she’ll need a surgery to fix it. And you’ll be back in prison by then, so if she has a surgery someone else will have to take care of me… And if something goes wrong…” His voice broke and he was on the verge of tears again.

“Sweetheart, hey, listen.” William turned to look at her again. “I’ll try to fix this myself, and if I can’t I’ll ask about surgery… But if there’s a chance that something might go wrong I won’t do it. Okay? I won’t risk leaving you alone. I promise you.”

“Even if that means not walking again?”

She looked at Oliver, who was already watching her. A silent conversation going on. Looking at William again she answered. “Yeah, because like we said yesterday, people can still do amazing things, even without the use of their legs. You are more important to me than the ability of walking again.”

He nodded in understanding and thought about her words.

Trying to alleviate the heaviness of what happened, Oliver suggested to watch some tv. They let William pick some funny sitcom while Oliver took care of Felicity’s injuries.

Not even 30 minutes later William was asleep, his head on Oliver’s shoulder and his right hand holding Felicity’s.

It was like he needed a constant connection to them, afraid they might disappear at any moment.

“Has this happened before?” Oliver whispered to her, careful not to wake him.

“The first night we spent here, but it wasn’t as bad. He had a nightmare and panicked, but I was able to calm him down in a few minutes. This time though… This time he scared me.”

“For how long he had the attack?”

“Just a couple of minutes, then you arrived. By the way, how were you so fast?”

“Felicity, it took me 37 minutes to go and come back.”

That surprised her. They must have lost track of time while they were hugging.

Oliver reached out his hand and put it over hers, over the one that held William’s hand.

“I’m sorry I dropped all of this on you.”

She looked at him. “You didn’t drop this on me, I knew what I was getting myself into when I married you. Even before that, when we started to date again I knew the responsibilities that came with William.”

He looked away. “But when I made the deal with Watson I didn’t tell you about it. Just like how I didn’t tell you about William years ago. And we both know what happened next. I made the same mistake, knowing what kind of consequences that life changing decision would have. I screwed up everything, again.”

He closed his eyes and made to let go of her hand, but she stopped him and clung to him.

“Hey.” She waited until he looked at her. “I was mad at you. For the first few days. Then I realized that you didn’t tell me about the deal because you knew that I’d convince you to change your mind, to find another way. Instead you chose to protect me, to protect everyone from doing something stupid like hiding you or I don’t know, threatening Watson, or whatever. You protected us, you left this kid with a parent and not some stranger who would have taken care of him if I went to jail too.”

When she finished they both had tears in their eyes.

“I love you so much.” His voice hoarse.

“I love you too.”

“I don’t deserve you.” He was looking at her in wonder and she knew that he really thought that.

“Yes, you do.” She squeezed his hand. “What you deserve is love, and you have it. Because I love you and this little guy loves you too. And you have Thea, Roy, John, Lyla, all of our friends, on their own way, they love you. And you deserve it, because you’re a good man.”

Oliver felt the tears finally trail down his face. “You really think that? That I deserve this? To be loved?”

“Yes.” It was said with no hesitation. “Nobody is perfect, we all have our flaws. But no matter what you did or said, you’re a good man. And I’ll be sure of this until my dying breath.”

If William wasn’t between them, he’d be kissing her right now. But his son was there, so he squeezed her hand and she nodded. She’s be doing the same thing if they could.

They spent the rest of the afternoon like that. William woke up at some point and they watched movies, they talked and laughed about simple things. Felicity and William even convinced Oliver to eat ice cream for dinner.

They spent the day like any other people would. Like nothing existed other than their family.

When it was time for bed William helped them by bringing the wheelchair upstairs while Oliver carried Felicity. She had no idea that such a small act could make her love her stepson even more, but it did.

They said their goodnights and I love you and went back in their rooms.

In bed Oliver and Felicity cuddled and exchanged sweet kisses. Their hands softly touched each other’s back, arms, hands, any place they could reach.

They tenderly made love again, memorizing each other’s body, the soft sounds they made. Words of love whispered in the dark for only them to know.

And then fell asleep in each other’s embrace.

→

The next day Roy and Thea kept them company. They brought them up to date on their lives and their discoveries on the Lazarus Pits.

But most importantly they all talked about happy stories and memories.

William wanted to know about Oliver’s heroic actions when Roy worked with them, about his childhood with Thea, about when he and Felicity were a couple before. They kept the conversation light, skipping the gory details and sad parts.

They were all happy and they laughed, really laughed for the first time in a long time.

When it was late Roy and Thea left, saying their goodbyes. It took them a while, but in the end they promised to take care of his family, even when they were far away.

Then the Queens went to sleep.

This time, when Oliver and Felicity were in bed they felt something was different.

They both knew that they only had around 36 hours. Then he’ll have to go back.

This was probably the last time they’ll ever make love.

They were looking into each other’s eyes, Oliver on top of Felicity, his hands cradling her head, her arms holding him close to her. His movements slow and gentle.

Now he understood perfectly what she meant when she said that it wasn’t about the pleasure. Because he could see in her eyes how much she loved him, there were no words that could describe something like this. And she saw it reflected in his eyes.

They never wanted for this moment to end.

So they dragged this on for as much as they could.

Eventually their bodies got tired, Oliver’s thrusts became more desperate and Felicity kissed him with all she had, her nails digging into his back, urging him on.

Then it was over, but it didn’t matter.

It didn’t matter that they were crying, their tears mingling together.

It didn’t matter that their shallow breaths were coming out in desperate pants.

It didn’t matter because they had the connection they craved so much. Their souls were connected.

And that was what gave them more satisfaction than anything else.

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Oliver's time out of prison reaches an end, and the Queen family has to say goodbye, again.
> 
> Ooooooh I'm so excited for next chapter... Which I'll post tomorrow!


	10. Now that you're gone all that remains is the ghost of love.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver's time out of prison reaches an end, and the Queen family has to say goodbye, again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't want to spoil what happens, but I'll just say that I can't wait to read your comments about this one... Especially about the ending!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Chapter's title from "Ghost of love" by The Rasmus.

Only 16 hours. That was the time they had left.

Oliver, Felicity and William were sitting at the table, the dinner in front of them untouched.

None of them felt like eating, not when they had so little time together before Oliver had to go back to prison.

For the rest of his life.

“I wish you didn’t have to go back.”

Oliver and Felicity both looked up from their plates, William already watching them. He said it in a whisper, but they all heard.

“Why can’t we run away? There are only two agents outside, we can find a way to fool them.” He asked hopefully.

“We can’t, sweetheart.” Felicity reached out and William took her hand. “We do that and the FBI will arrest everybody else, and that is wrong. Not to mention that if they catch us… I’ll end up in prison too, then who’ll take care of you?” She tried to explain this to him as gently as she could, trying to make him understand.

“She’s right, buddy. Believe me, if we could do that we would already be far away from here.”

“I know.” He sounded defeated. “It doesn’t mean I have to like the situation though.”

They both nodded, unsure of what to say to make him feel better. So they all stayed quiet for a long time.

After a while the food got cold, and they stopped pretending to be interested in it. They got rid of the dishes and then sat on the couch.

Felicity made sure to leave Oliver in the middle, so both her and William could hug him. Not many words were exchanged, but they all knew how they all felt about the situation.

Taking a deep breath William started to talk. “Dad, I know that when I first moved in with you I was… I wasn’t nice. And other times too, later on, like with the Green Arrow stuff. But I want you to know that I’ll miss you so much.” He barely got out the words before he started to cry.

Oliver just held him closer. “It’s alright, you weren’t bad. And I’ll miss you a lot too. I’ll think about you, the both of you, every single day.” He said while hugging them.

Silent tears were streaming down their faces.

At some point William fell asleep, safe in his father’s embrace. Oliver and Felicity never slept though. They stayed awake, holding each other, just a few words whispered in the dark.

Way too soon, light started to fill the room, signaling a new day.

The day none of them wanted to come.

With William still asleep, Oliver and Felicity took the opportunity to say goodbye to each other, one more time.

“I promise I’ll take care of him.” Her voice broke at the end.

“I know you’ll be an amazing parent. You already are.” He kissed the top of her head, just as she let out a quiet sob and he held her more tightly to him. “And I know he’ll become an amazing man thanks to you. There’ll be times when he’ll want to take some distance from you, but don’t take it personally, every guy I’ve ever met had that phase.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“And don’t let him… I know this makes me selfish and even hypocrite, but please don’t let him become a vigilante. I don’t want him to risk his own life and make my mistakes.”

Felicity looked him in the eyes and saw fear. “I promise I’ll do everything I can to prevent that. But if he’s as stubborn as you are we both know I won’t have much say in the matter.”

“Felicity…”

“I promise I’ll do my best.” And Oliver believed her.

He looked as if he had something else to say, but hesitated.

“What is it?” She questioned.

“One more thing.” He swallowed hard, the words stuck in his throat. “If… Felicity, if you meet someone-”

“No.” He didn’t even finish the phrase and she was already angry.

“If you do and-”

“Oliver, stop.” She stared into his eyes, her voice strong and sure. “I don’t need another man in my life. I love _you_ , and your love for me is enough. Even if you love me from far away, that is enough. I have William to think about, and there won’t be someone else just because you’re not here. You are it for me. You are my always.”

She used the exact same words he said in his vows at their fake wedding.

Oliver kissed her, deeply and passionately. Their mouths expressing how their hearts felt. Their love, their fears, their worries.

When the need for air became too much they slowly separated. Their foreheads resting one against the other, eyes closed, breaths mingling together.

“I love you, Felicity Smoak.”

“And I love you, Oliver Queen.”

They stayed like that for a while, until William started to stir and they turned their attention to him.

“Hey, buddy.” Oliver waited until he was awake enough and then hugged him tightly against his chest. “I need you to be good, especially with Felicity, okay?” He felt his son nod. “Even if you are angry at her for something, I want you to respect her and treat her in the best possible way.”

“I promise you, dad.” William was trying to hide his tears, but he could hear them in his whispered voice.

“She’ll look out for you, but you’ll have to take care of her too. And I don’t mean just for her physical condition, also for her heart. You’ll have to support each other, alright?”

He nodded. Oliver let go of him with one arm and rearranged them so he was holding both his son and his wife. The three of them shaking while they cried.

They lost track of time, but way too soon they heard a car stop in front of the house, steps getting closer to the door and a soft knock. Then John and Lyla entered the room.

“I’m sorry, but it’s time.” Lyla quietly said.

Oliver nodded, but he stayed where he was for almost another twenty minutes. Eventually he had to let go, trying to ignore the pain in his chest when Felicity let out a sob and William cried “Dad!” and he stood.

“It’s gonna be okay.” He said kissing his son’s forehead. “You’re all going to be okay.” Turning to Felicity he did the same. “I love you both, very much.” His own voice breaking.

Oliver disentangled their hands and walked to John, hugging him. “Please take care of them.”

“You know that I will.” His friend’s voice wavering too. “And you be careful in there.”

Oliver nodded. “Yeah.” And broke the embrace.

He turned around and looked at his family for what will be the last time. Felicity and William were hugging each other but they were looking at him while they cried.

“I love you.” He said one more time, adding what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

“I love you.” They told him at the same time.

And then he left.

Lyla leading him to the car waiting for them.

Only when he was sitting in the back of that car he started to sob uncontrollably, not caring that he wasn’t alone.

Because he was in the car that will take him back to prison.

He was in the car that will take him away from his family for the rest of his life.

→

Felicity and William sat on the couch for a long time, silent tears streaming down their cheeks while they held each other tightly.

John was in the room with them, but gave them space, his strong presence enough to support them.

When they slightly calmed down, he suggested to get them back to their apartment, the one they shared with Oliver for months after the marriage. Diaz wasn’t a threat anymore, so they could go back home.

Felicity wasn’t sure if that was the best idea for William, seeing how the last time he was there masked men barged in shooting at them. She thought about the loft, but the stairs would be a problem for her and she didn’t want some stranger around the house to help her.

When John took her silence as hesitancy he updated her on a few changes. “Lyla and I fixed it. We installed a new security system, bulletproof windows and replaced everything that was broken. We were able to put a panic room using part of your bedrooms. They’re a little smaller now, but the panic room is efficient at 100%. They also doubled security personnel in the building after the recent events. The place has never been more secure.” John paused. “It’s still yours, if you want it.”

Felicity was stunned. She smiled at John, thanking him for everything, but she wasn’t the only one who was going to live in that place. Turning to her stepson she addressed him.

“Will, what do you think? Are you alright with that?” She asked and saw him think about it. “It’s okay if you’re not, but you have to tell me so we can look for another place.”

“No, I want to go back. It’s where we lived with dad and… I don’t want to abandon it. Maybe staying there will make his absence a little less painful.” William’s voice was quiet, but she knew he was sure of what he was saying, she saw conviction in his eyes.

“Okay then. Why don’t you go gather your things so we can go home?” Even Felicity heard the weird way she pronounced the word ‘home’. It wasn’t home without Oliver. But John and William didn’t say a thing about it, because they both knew she was right.

“Okay.” He stood, but stopped there, hesitating, and he looked at her. “Will you be okay? I mean, do I have to take your stuff too?”

She glanced at John and he nodded, turning to William again she answered him. “John will give me a hand, don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” She gave him a smile, it was a small one but it was sincere.

William nodded and surprised her a little when he leaned down to kiss her cheek. Then he went to his room upstairs.

Her clothes were god knows where after the kidnapping, so she didn’t have much in this house, but John helped her to get Oliver’s clothes upstairs and then her things when she couldn’t reach them and when they were done he loaded everything in the car.

They left the safe house for the last time, William and Felicity in the backseats holding each other’s hand.

→

Felicity and William settled again in their apartment. John did a good job with the place and, except for a few things, it was exactly like before the shooting.

For the first couple of days they rearranged the things in the cabinets and drawers. Felicity told William that she could call John, but he insisted to do it himself, saying this way he will know where he could find things when he looked for them in the future.

So she helped him the best she could. They put the things she used on the lower shelves and on the top rested what William needed.

“I’m taller than you anyway, so we needed to change this, no matter- uh…” He froze midsentence, unsure how to continue.

“Hey, you can say it. It’s not a problem.” She smiled at him. “No matter my situation, condition, paralysis. You can call it what you want, I won’t get mad.”

He let out a relieved sigh. “I know, I just… Didn’t know if it was respectful or not.”

“It’s okay. I’m actually glad you don’t just ignore it.” He smiled and they continued.

Things went on like this for the next week.

In the mornings, Felicity helped William catching up with school, that he will start again soon.

In the afternoons, he’d play videogames or read a book and she’d work on fixing her chip.

Their friends called every day, asking about them, if they needed anything. But every time Felicity asked something about the team or the city they became evasive, saying that she needed to think about William and not worry about the rest for now. She agreed, so that’s what she did.

→

Felicity was making lunch for the two of them when she heard the front door opening. With a quick glance she saw William leaving his backpack near the couch and she finished the last touches to their food.

“Hey, how was your second day at school?”

He was quiet for a second, then blurted out “I don’t want to go back there.”

She turned around with her wheelchair and really took in his state. He had a black eye, his lip was split and still bleeding, and he was holding close his right hand which was bruised. Someone hit him, and he probably hit back.

“William!” She quickly went to where he was standing near the kitchen table. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“I’m okay, but I don’t want to go to school again.” He sounded defeated and angry at the same time. “Can we just do what we did before? The home-schooling thing?”

She indicated him to sit and he did, then she gently took his face in her hands and wiped away the blood with a napkin.

“What happened, sweetheart?”

He hesitated but after seeing her worried face he explained. “Some guys, they’re older than me I don’t know them… Well they said bad things and I tried to talk them down first, but they punched me and I… I did what dad told me to do, so I chose the biggest one and punched him in the nose. They got scared and ran away.” He said the last thing proudly.

“Will…”

“I know I shouldn’t have done that, I know it was wrong, but they hit me and I just kind of reacted. Please don’t be mad, Felicity.”

She sighed. “I’m not mad, I’m just worried. What did they say to you?”

William looked away. “Some things.” He didn’t want to talk about it, she could see that but she needed to know everything so she could help him.

“William. The whole truth, please.” She told him gently.

“Okay, but don’t get angry.” At her nod he continued. “They said that now I’m here just babysitting you because… You’re a crippled. I got mad, I wanted to punch them but I didn’t, I just told them to shut up and that they didn’t know what they were talking about. One of them punched me,” he pointed at his eye, “then another one did that too,” his lip, “but I didn’t react because they were three and I was alone, so… I just stood there. Until one of them said…” He let out an angry sigh. “He said that you’re not my mom but just… Dad’s whore. I got angry, so I chose the biggest one, like dad said to do, and punched him in the nose. He started to bleed and after that they ran away.”

He finished his story and Felicity didn’t know how to respond.

She was incredibly proud of him for what he did, standing up to bullies and defending her condition and her honor.

But at the same time she was concerned about him, because now he had to worry about what people said about her too, not just what they said about his father.

And she was angry at the school, because how was it possible that not even one teacher noticed three kids punching another one?

He must have took her silence as disappointment, because he adverted his eyes and looked down at his shoes. “I’m sorry.”

“No, no, hey. It’s okay, don’t apologize. I… I’m not saying that punching him was the right thing to do, but I understand the situation they put you in.” He looked at her then.

“I should not encourage violence, but I appreciate what you did for me. Thank you.” She smiled at him. “Come here.” She opened her arms and William went to hug her.

“And about the other thing they said…”

“That you’re not my mom?”

“Yeah, about that…” She took a deep breath. “Samantha is your mom. She will always be and I’m not trying to replace her, I’ll never do that. But I can assure you that I’ll do my best to be, at least, a motherly figure to you.”

“You already are. And you’re pretty good at it.”

She smiled. “And you may not be my son, by blood, but I love you as if you were.”

He held her a little tighter. “I love you too.”

They stayed like that for a while, until William shifted and let out a small whimper.

“Let me get you a bowl of ice for your hand and some things to clean you up. Then we’ll call the school and make sure those guys won’t bother you again. Okay?” He nodded.

And that’s what they did. She thought about hacking their parents’ bank accounts to donate a large amount of money to some charity, but that was wrong. If she was going to be an example for William she needed to do the right thing.

So they called the school and those guys got suspended, with a warning that they will be expelled if it happened again, just like the teachers that were in charge of them when it happened.

→

It was 3 am. Exactly six weeks after Oliver went back to prison.

Felicity was sitting on the floor next to the couch, William was resting on it. She dipped a cloth in cool water, then put it on his forehead.

He was sick. It started with a headache and he couldn’t keep down the food he ate, then there was the fever, the shivering and the exhaustion.

He caught the virus at school two days ago. Or maybe it was her fault, since she got it first.

She still had most of the symptoms after almost two weeks. She was mostly exhausted, but she blamed it on the return of her paralysis and adjusting on their new life -again.

Now she figured it was the flu in her case too.

Felicity refreshed the cloth and put it back on his forehead to keep the fever down.

She thought about her chip. She fixed it, in theory. She had the codes that will make it work again, no need for surgery just like that time with the EMP.

Today she talked to William about it and they decided to do it tomorrow, if he felt better. He was excited about it as much as she was.

Her phone beeped with a notification, a news alert about bank robbers stopped by vigilantes. So the team was still working together, she wondered why they didn’t tell her about it. She also realized that she had no idea of what happened during the last month in the city, she stayed locked up in the apartment working on the chip and taking care of William.

Felicity was scrolling through her apps when she noticed it. Another kind of notification. She opened it and the world spun around her.

The date let her know it showed up the day William came home from school with bruises. She must have ignored it and forgot about it. That was three weeks ago.

Now, as she stared at her phone, she thought back to the last few weeks. She knew it could be true. But she needed to know now.

Felicity sent a message to Lyla, and only after she showed up twenty minutes later she realized it was the middle of the night.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t-”

“It’s okay, I just finished working and was on my way home. Don’t worry about it.” She said while giving her the bag. “Do you want me to stay?” Lyla asked with a small smile.

“I think I can handle it. But thank you, a lot.” The gratitude evident in her voice.

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. I mean it.”

“I will. Thank you.”

After Lyla left, she checked on William again.

His fever broke and she let out a relieved sigh. Then she left the room.

Five minutes later she had her answer.

A little stick clutched in her hand.

The word staring back at her.

Pregnant.

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: How Felicity and others react to the news.
> 
> Ta-da-da-daaaa!  
> I'm not even sorry for ending the chapter like this!


	11. Cause it's us against the world.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and others react to the news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The pregnancy idea came to me one day, out of nowhere, while I was at work! And I wanted it so much that I hope you'll like this chapter and the remaining chapters of this story.
> 
> Title from "Us against the world" by Westlife.

Felicity didn’t sleep that night.

She spent it taking care of William, but she couldn’t stop thinking. Her mind kept going back to that word.

Pregnant.

Such a simple word, yet it could change her life even more. Their lives, she was not alone in this. This will change William’s life too.

 _Oh God. William. How will he react? Will he accept it? Will he hate this child? Be jealous of him or her?_ She thought.

_No. He's better than that. He's a good kid, he will accept it._

Then another thought struck her.

Oliver.

With no way to communicate with him she couldn’t tell him about it.

He won’t know he was going to have a child. Again.

He won’t be present at the birth of the baby. Again.

He won’t be there to see him or her growing up. Again.

History was repeating itself. And she hated it. She hated it so much, because life was unfair to them, to him.

Felicity couldn’t be entirely happy about the news because this child will probably never know its father. And that thought was killing her.

She couldn’t stop the tears that streamed down her face, or the way her hand trembled when it ran through William’s hair.

He opened his eyes, suddenly awake, and she wasn’t fast enough to wipe away the tears because the first thing he said was “What’s wrong?”

Shaking her head she changed the topic. “Nothing. How do you feel? Your head still hurts?”

“No, I feel better.” He studied her for a moment. “Did something happen? Your fix on the chip didn’t work?”

She completely forgot about the chip after the last few hours, and now she wondered how she’ll deal with the pregnancy and motherhood in case the chip won’t work again.

“Uhm, no. I mean- It’s… I didn’t try to fix it, yet. I was waiting for you.” She gave him a forced smile, and she knew he didn’t buy it.

“Felicity?”

She knew that look. It was the same look Oliver gave her every single time he told her _“Talk to me, Felicity.”_

Right now William was exactly like his father.

She considered lying to him, coming up with some excuse. But she knew it was wrong. Everyone lied to him way too many times and he didn’t deserve it. He deserved the truth.

So she took a deep breath and carefully started to talk. “Sweetheart… I need to tell you something. It’s… very important.”

He got off the couch and sat next to her on the floor, his face showing he understood it was a serious talk.

“I don’t know how you’re going to react to this and it terrifies me. I just hope you won’t hate me or… Well…”

William had a confused expression on his face. “Are you going to leave?” When the confusion became fear she was quick to reassure him.

“No! No, I won’t leave. That’s not what this is about. I’m sorry if I made you think that. I’m just making this worse, so I’ll just say it, okay?” At his nod she told him.

“I’m pregnant.”

The room was silent.

Time was slowly passing by. William didn’t move, he barely blinked and kept staring at her. His expression unreadable.

It felt like an eternity, but she knew it was probably only two minutes after she dropped the bomb on him, when his gaze shifted and fell on her flat stomach.

“You’re gonna have a baby?” His voice just a whisper.

“There’s a possibility of 98,73% that I will, yes.”

His furrowed brow let her know she confused him.

“There’s a test that women can take when they have a doubt, if they’re pregnant or not. I took it and it said that I am pregnant, but I’ll have to see a doctor to confirm it.”

“Oh.” It was the only thing he said.

When she couldn’t take the silence anymore she gently grabbed his hand, and sighed in relief when he didn’t pull away from her.

“Will, say something, please. If you want to scream then do it, but please say something.”

He smiled at her. “Why would I want to scream? I’ve always wanted to be a big brother.” Then his smile disappeared, and he was suddenly unsure. “I mean… If dad is-”

“Of course your dad is the father!” She blurted out.

He chuckled. “Okay. So, this is like dad and auntie Thea. They had the same mother but a different father. This baby and I will have the same father instead of the mother. Right?”

She didn’t know that he was aware of that story. But it probably made it easier for her to explain the situation to him.

“Yeah, just like them. Are you okay with it? That I might be… Pregnant?” She asked him unsure.

“Are you kidding me? I’ve always wanted a sibling!” William launched himself at her, his arms around her shoulders.

Felicity smiled at his reaction and returned the embrace.

“Is there a way we can tell dad?” He sounded so sad that Felicity held him even tighter against her.

She didn’t want to give him false hope, so she settled with “I’m not sure. But I’ll think of something.”

They stayed like that for a while, then William asked “How long have you known?”

“For like 5 hours.” A thought came to her mind. “I swear I didn’t keep it a secret. Lyla probably thinks I am because she brought me the test last night, but you’re the first person I tell this. You’re the only one knowing about it.”

He nodded. “Thank you. For not keeping it a secret from me.”

“It’s just us now. I promised I’d take care of you, that also means being honest with you.”

She ruffled his hair and he playfully shoved her away, a smile on both of their faces.

“So when can you see a doctor to confirm it?” He was actually excited about it and that warmed her heart.

“I think… I can call Lyla and see if she can get me an appointment at her ARGUS medical facility. Privacy is probably better there than in any other hospital or clinic.”

Felicity took her phone and called her friend. 30 minutes later there was a knock on the door.

William checked the security camera feed and saw that it was John, he opened the door.

“Hey, William. How are you feeling today? Is everything okay?” He looked concerned.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I don’t have the fever anymore and the headache is gone.” William beamed at him and then turned to stand by Felicity who was getting closer to them.

“Hi, John.”

“Felicity, hey. Are you two okay? Lyla told me you need to see our doctor at ARGUS.”

He probably thought that William was still sick.

Also, she suspected Lyla wouldn’t spill her secret, so she made a note to herself to thank her for her discretion. Before she could say a word William intervened.

“Can we tell him?” He literally clapped his hands and even jumped a little. He was looking at her with so much joy that she couldn’t say no even if she wanted to.

“Yeah, he’s part of the family. And he’ll find out sooner or later, so… Why not?”

John looked even more confused than before.

“I’m going to be a big brother! Felicity will have a baby!”

She laughed at John’s shocked expression. Then a smile appeared on his face. “Wow, that’s… That’s wonderful, Felicity.” He bent down to hug her.

“Yeah, it is.”

He must have heard her unsaid words because he spoke his next words in her ear, so only she could hear him.

“Are you okay?”

He too thought about Oliver missing on this child’s life.

“I will be.” It was a whisper, then John pulled away and she addressed her stepson. “I have this amazing young man who is taking good care of me.”

William smiled proudly at them.

→

Felicity was wearing an hospital gown and sat on the edge of the bed. It was one of those beds where you have to put your legs up for a gynecological visit.

William sat on the chair next to it while they waited for the doctor.

He was even more nervous than her. His leg was bouncing up and down in a continuous motion, he was chewing his nails and his eyes kept looking around the room.

“Hey, it’s gonna be okay.” She tried to reassure him.

Clasping his hands in his lap he looked at her. “I know, but… What if that test was wrong? What if you’re not pregnant?”

“Well, rarely these tests give a false positive. But it any case we’ll… We’ll see what happens, okay?” She smiled at him and he nodded.

The doctor chose that moment to enter the room.

“Dr. Schwartz?”

“Hi, Felicity. I thought we agreed on calling each other by name.” Elisa smiled at her.

“Uh, yeah, sorry it’s just… Out of habit. I didn’t know you were also a gynecologist or that you worked here now.”

The doctor closed the door and got closer to the bed. “I’m not, I didn’t specialize in gynecology, but I still have experience with it. I’ve delivered at least 30 babies just this year. And I don’t work here, but Lyla Michaels specifically wanted me for this, she said discretion was important.”

“Uh, yes. Thank you.”

“But she didn’t tell me the reason of the visit, so can I ask you what this is about?”

Now she was the nervous one.

“Well, I’m pregnant. I mean, I took a test and I know false negatives are more of a possibility than false positives, but I need confirmation, so… Here I am. Pregnant. Or I think I am pregnant.” She took a deep breath to stop the babble that she was about to continue, but the doctor just smiled.

“Do you know how far along you could be?”

Felicity felt her cheeks change color in a nice shade of red. “I’m sure it was about the time I came home after the kidnapping, so six weeks. It can’t be any other way.”

“Okay then. I’ll go get the ultrasound machine so we can be sure about that.”

“Thank you.”

Elisa left the room and Felicity looked at William.

“Hey, you don’t have to stay. It’s gonna be pretty weird if she’ll do what I think she’ll do, so… Uhm…” She wasn’t sure how to put it.

She didn’t want to cut him out, but she also wasn’t sure how he’d feel about being in the same room with her while she was half naked and with a wand up there -even if he didn’t know that.

“But you’ll be alone. If dad can’t be here with you then I should. Like you said, it’s just us.”

Felicity only found sincerity in his words. He meant it. And that made tears pool in her eyes.

“You really wanna stay?”

“Yeah. Besides, I will see the baby, right?”

She laughed at that. “I’m not sure how much we will see. It’s still early, the baby is not completely formed yet. If I am pregnant, that is.”

“Right.”

The doctor came back, wheeling the equipment she needed in the room. Once everything was connected, she helped Felicity to lay down properly on the bed, William hovering close by wanting to help but unsure how to.

She had her gown up to her chest, a blanket covering from the waist down. Elisa put some gel on her abdomen, the only uncovered part of her body, and then started to look for the baby on the monitor.

For a long time no one said anything. Then she deposited the transducer and gave Felicity some paper towel to wipe away the gel.

“I saw something, but I can’t confirm the pregnancy like this. I’d need to do a transv-” she glanced at William, and then back at her again, “uh, an internal exam to be sure. I can do it now if you want.”

Felicity hesitated.

“Maybe you two can talk about something to distract yourselves while I look for it.” She suggested, giving Felicity an understanding look.

“Yeah. Will, why don’t you come and sit here?” She indicated the spot on the bed next to her. He sat there, giving his back to the doctor, and he took Felicity’s extended hand. “Is there something you want to talk about? Something you wanna ask?”

He thought about it for a moment, meanwhile Felicity saw Elisa changing position and going to the end of the bed. Felicity nodded to her, to let her know she could proceed.

“If there’s gonna be a baby for sure, how will you name him? Or her?”

“Wow, uh… I haven’t thought about it yet.”

She was interrupted by a loud continuous sound and turning around they saw Elisa moving the monitor closer to them.

“Well, Felicity, you’ll have to think about a name. Because I can confirm that you are pregnant.”

William yelled a loud “Yes!”, but Felicity was speechless. She couldn’t describe how she felt in that moment.

She was happy. She was carrying a new life inside of her, someone that will depend on her for many years to come, someone that will look up to her. Pretty much like William, but she will live this experience from the very beginning.

She was also sad and terrified. Sad because Oliver will miss all of this once again. And terrified because she was going to do this alone, while taking care of William too. Yes, she had her friends, but it wasn’t the same. The father won’t be there.

She heard her name being called. She must have zoned out because William was standing beside her, her hand still in his, and he was looking at her with a worried expression.

“Are you okay?”

Shaking her head she weakly replied, “Yeah, I’m good.”

He didn’t believe her. “You’re not happy about the baby?” His voice so sad.

“No, Will, I’m happy about it, really happy. I just… I wish your dad was here to see this.” She smiled sadly at him and he nodded. “Me too.”

Elisa was quietly writing down something on a clipboard and when she was done she addressed them. “This right here…” She indicated a small dot on the screen “This is the baby.”

“It’s so tiny.” William said in a stunned voice.

“Yes, it is. Right now it’s the size of a pea. At six weeks the face is beginning to form, the eyes, nose, ears, chin and cheeks. Just like the lungs, kidneys and liver.”

“Do you know if it’s boy or girl?!”

Felicity laughed at his excitement. “Sweetheart, it’s way too early for that. It’s probably gonna be a few more weeks before we can find out, right?” She addressed the doctor.

“Yeah, usually around 15-18 weeks is the best time to look for the gender, earlier it’s a little bit harder to be sure about it, and now it’s not even formed yet. But if we are lucky we should be able to hear the heartbeat.”

She typed something on the machine and after some fumbling around they heard it.

Felicity felt tears on her cheeks. “Oh my God, that’s so fast.”

“Yes, it’s completely normal. You don’t have to worry about it. Actually everything looks pretty good. I’ll prescribe you some vitamins and be sure to eat healthy food, especially in this period, it seems like a silly thing but it’s actually very important for the baby.”

“I will.”

The doctor printed a few copies of the ultrasound, at William’s insistence. It only showed a black spot with a tiny dot in the middle, but he wanted it at all costs.

She left the room, now too silent without the sound of the baby’s heartbeat.

Felicity stared at William, who was busy looking at the picture in his hand.

She knew that he had a good heart, like his father, but she thought that he would have needed some more convincing before completely accepting it.

Apparently she was wrong.

“Can I keep this?” He looked at her with only what she could call heart-eyes.

“Of course you can.” She gave him a smile, then took a deep breath. “Look, William… This baby will change our lives. It will need a lot of my attention. A lot of my time will be spent in taking care of him or her. And I don’t want you to feel like I will abandon you, or love you less after this one will be born. I won’t make differences. I need you to know that.”

“I know.” He smiled at her. He was such a wonderful kid. “My mom… She used to babysit her friend’s daughter when she had to work. I remember she cried a lot and needed a constant change of diapers.” He scrunched up his face in disgust and Felicity laughed.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much all they do at the beginning.”

Then they became serious again. “What will you do with the chip?”

She sighed. “I don’t know. I was going to try and update the fix today, but I’ll make some more tests, maybe even ask someone here at ARGUS to take a look, just to make sure it won’t hurt the baby in any way.”

William nodded in understanding.

There was a knock on the door and John entered with Lyla following him.

“Hey, you two. How did it go?” John asked while crossing the room, stopping next to the bed.

“She’s gonna have a baby!” William told them before she could open her mouth. “Look at this!” Rounding the bed he shoved the picture in front of their faces.

After they stared at it for a while Lyla went to hug her. “Congratulations Felicity, really.” Then John did the same.

“Thank you, guys. For everything.” She’ll never say it enough times to show her gratitude to them for all they did to help.

John and Lyla looked at each other, a silent conversation going on. Then turning to them, Lyla spoke.

“Felicity, William. We need to tell you something important.”

Felicity’s heart started to beat faster, unreadable expressions on her friends’ faces.

“What is it?” She asked them worriedly.

John spoke.

“It’s Oliver.”

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Oliver facing prison once again.


	12. I miss you when the lights go out.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver facing prison once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are with a new chapter! I realized that Saturday there will be the Arrow panel at Comic-Con, and I want to finish this fic before then... Sooooo I'll post a new chapter everyday for the next three days! I hope you're happy about it!  
> And now, enjoy your reading!
> 
> Title from "I miss you" by Adele.

Six weeks after his little trip outside and he missed them so much.

It was a constant thought lately, Felicity and William. It was unfair how he lost them, got them back for a couple of days and then lost them again.

And with Felicity paralyzed he worried even more.

Oliver knew that she could take care of both herself and William in her condition, but she’d just strain herself more and more, and not just physically. Her mind was what worried him the most.

After the shooting she had problems adjusting, at the beginning. He still remembered that time when she took one too many pill that gave her hallucinations, how that experience made her feel.

How she felt like she was useless in helping the team, how she couldn’t just walk down the street to get a cup of coffee and the little things she thought she couldn’t do anymore.

She doubted herself.

And even though she was able to come out stronger from that experience all by herself, he was still there to support her.

Sure, John, William and the others will be there for her, but they didn’t see her that time, they wouldn’t understand even if he told them about it.

Because they weren’t there, but he was. And this time he wasn’t there too.

This time Oliver wasn’t there to support her, to encourage her to keep fighting and to stay strong.

This time _he_ felt useless.

He felt useless because he was locked up in this place for the crimes he committed and he wasn’t getting out. He was going to spend the rest of his life in this damned place without knowing what was happening to the two most important people in his life.

Pushing away those thoughts for the moment -he knew they were going to come back soon anyway- he looked down at his plate. He really didn’t want to eat the goo that they called ‘lunch’, but it was the only thing they gave him and he had to keep himself in shape as best as he could.

The plate was roughly shoved away though and it ended on the floor. Looking at his side he recognized Malcolm-guy. He didn’t even bother with his real name, he couldn’t care less.

The guy and his merry men left him alone after the accident in the yard, when he gave them a lesson, but today they were back.

They were surrounding him, angry expressions on all of their faces.

“Queen!” Malcolm-guy yelled in his face. “What is this story? You got _out_? How the fuck is it possible?”

No one knew about his 96 hours of ‘freedom’. When he came back, Thomas informed him that everyone thought he’s been in isolation for all that time. Even the guards that hated him believed that story.

Oliver had no idea how these guys found out.

He chose not to respond, instead he stood and made to leave, but the guys got in his way.

“What, did you blow the guards?” They all laughed.

_Idiots._

“Hey, did you see your whore when you were out?” Another one told him.

His hands clenched into fists. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm down. It didn’t work.

Malcolm-guy didn’t waste time and added, “I bet he did, but from the look he has right now it must have been bad. He probably didn’t even last a minute!” They laughed again.

_Don’t punch him. Don’t punch him. Don’t punch him._

He repeated it like a mantra in his head.

“Don’t worry guys, I’m sure she already found someone who gave it to her like a real man. From what I heard she didn’t have a problem getting on her knees for a promotion when she worked for this one, so-”

Oliver snapped.

He didn’t care of what they said about him, it didn’t matter. But he won’t let them talk about Felicity like that.

So he punched Malcolm-guy in the face, his nose bleeding. That started a fight in the group and everyone charged at him. He dodged most of the attacks and hit back those who were able to get him, but they were too many and this time there were actually men who knew how to fight.

They were able to punch his jaw and his left eye -splitting his eyebrow again,- on his left thigh there was a deep cut from a shiv, they elbowed him a couple of times on his lower back and the ribs, and someone managed to dislocate his right shoulder.

Oliver obviously fought back and almost all of them were on the ground, only one guy was still standing. The beast that almost gave him a concussion months ago. And he had the shiv in his hand.

He was about to stab him, Oliver ready to disarm him, when the guy’s body suddenly started to shake and then fell on floor. On his back there were two dart-like electrodes connected to the stun gun that Thomas was holding.

Oliver raised his hands in a non-threatening way, but one of the other guards already shot him and he fell to the floor, his body spasming. He vaguely heard Thomas yelling at the man, but he couldn’t figure out what was being said, then the spasms stopped and he could breathe again.

He saw the guards dragging away the other inmates and Thomas getting closer to him.

“Are you okay?” He crouched next to him.

“Yeah, give me a moment.” Oliver’s voice was shaking, his arms and legs kept twitching from the shocks.

Thomas removed the darts that shocked him. “I’m sorry about that. I’m pretty sure he’s one of those that hate you and didn’t care that you already surrendered and weren’t a threat. But he’ll get what he deserves for not following my instructions.”

“That’s not necessary.” He didn’t want them to hate him even more.

Thomas helped him to get up and told him to follow him.

They walked in silence, until they entered the same room where he found out that Felicity was missing.

Oliver was about to ask him why he brought him here, when he noticed two people in the room.

“Mr. Queen.” Samanda Watson’s cold voice greeted him.

Next to her there was Dinah, who was smiling at him. “Hi, Oliver.”

Thomas quietly said “I’ll be right back. I’m gonna get you some bandages for that cut on your leg.”

Oliver muttered a “Thank you.” But he was focused on the two women in front of him, his injuries already forgotten.

Dinah went to quickly hug him and he returned the embrace. She asked him “Are you okay?”

Pulling away he shrugged, wincing slightly when it reminded him his dislocated shoulder. “Yeah, yeah. But why- Dinah, what’s going on? Are William and Felicity okay?”

She put a reassuring hand on his arm. “They’re fine, don’t worry. I heard John, they’re with him and Lyla right now. That’s why I’m here instead of them.”

He didn’t understand.

Watson let out an irritated sigh. “Mr. Queen, you are a lucky man. Your future doesn’t include prison, apparently.”

“What do you mean?” He was more confused than before.

“Oliver, you’re free.” Dinah said smiling.

He didn’t know what to say. He wanted to believe her, but what if he was mistaking her words for something else?

“I don’t want to jump to conclusions, so… What do you exactly mean with ‘free’?”

“You can come home, for real this time. You won’t spend the rest of your life in here.”

Okay, there was no mistaking her words now. But it didn’t make sense, the FBI arrested him for valid reasons and he made a deal with them.

“How?”

“Felicity.” Dinah smiled at him. “The night she was kidnapped, she sent Curtis an email before disappearing. She had an idea to help you get out of here. In the email there were all of your body-cam recordings and she wrote that we could show them to the people of the city, show them all of the good things you did. That you didn’t kill for sport and that you did all of that to protect the city. With Felicity missing and ARGUS focused on finding her, we -Curtis, Rene and myself- started to work on it, to get these recordings to news channels and websites. People started to talk about them. Word spread fast.”

Oliver was speechless.

“We were able to get a new referendum and people voted, so now there’s no more an anti-vigilante legislation. We can protect the city like we used to.”

Watson didn’t waste time and added “It goes unsaid that if someone dies by the hands of a vigilante the FBI will need to investigate if it was self-defence or not. If the kill could have been avoided then the vigilante will need to answer for the crime he or she committed.”

Oliver took a moment to register everything they just said to him.

He was a free man, who could still work as the Green Arrow without being prosecuted.

It seemed too good to be true.

“But what about our deal?” He addressed Watson.

She didn’t look happy about it. “There’s no more deal after the referendum. The city wants you back.”

“Just like that? Where’s the catch? And what about my friends’ immunities?” He asked suspecting an ulterior motive.

Dinah moved closer to him. “Oliver, there’s no catch. The people voted in favor of the anti-vigilante law in the past, now they voted against it. You were sent to prison because of that law. Without it you don’t need to stay in here, you are free.”

“The immunities are still valid because you kept your part of the deal and now you have one too.” Watson stood from where she was sitting on the chair. “I hope I won’t need to see you again, Mr. Queen.”

She left the room, just when Thomas came back with a first aid kit.

Seeing Oliver’s shocked face he smiled. “I guess they told you the good news?”

“You knew?”

“I knew about the referendum, and even voted. But they just told me it actually worked. Congratulations, Mr. Queen.” He held out his hand to him.

Oliver smiled and shook it. “I think it’s about time you drop the ‘Mr. Queen’ and call me Oliver.”

“Alright, Oliver.”

He turned and hugged Dinah. “Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me. Your wife was the brilliant mind behind this plan.”

He pulled away and smiled proudly. “I’ve never doubted her intelligence, but this is even more than I could have hoped for.”

“Right now John and Lyla are giving her and William the good news. I’m sure they can’t wait to see you again.”

“Yeah, me too.” He sighed at the thought of holding them again.

When his leg started to hurt he quickly took a roll of gauze and messily bandaged the cut to stop the bleeding, he’ll take care of it later.

While he worked he asked “When can I get out?”

“Well, Rene and Curtis are waiting for us in the car outside, so… How about now?”

He looked at Thomas. “Aren’t there papers to sign for my release or something?”

The man shook his head. “ARGUS already took care of it. You can walk out of that door right now without a problem.”

Oliver couldn’t help himself and quickly hugged the man. “Thank you, Thomas. I’m glad I’ve had the chance to meet you, even under these circumstances. You’re a good man.”

“You’re a good man too, Oliver. And thank _you_. For everything.”

Oliver knew he was talking about saving his daughter.

“Now go and be happy with your family. You deserve it.”

He walked to the door and with a final nod to the man he left the room.

→

He always thought that it was dumb, when in movies people said that the air seemed fresher when you were a free man.

But when he put a foot outside of the prison gates he knew that it was true. He felt a weight leave his shoulders, a strange sense of peace surrounding him.

The thought of spending the future with Felicity and William and not behind bars was enough to make him smile again.

When they arrived to the car Curtis and Rene were waiting for them.

“It’s good to see you again, Hoss.” Rene briefly hugged him.

“It’s the same for me, Rene.”

He turned to Curtis.

“Hi, Oliver. First of all, I’m sorry for what I did with Felicity’s chip. I shouldn’t have hacked it without consulting you or John first. Even if it was already offline and didn’t hurt Felicity, it wasn’t my call to make. So, I’m sorry -please don’t kill me.” He rushed to say.

He remembered vividly how he felt when John told him what Curtis did, the rage that blinded him, how he wanted to punch him hard in the face.

“Curtis, I can’t say that I approve of what you did. It wasn’t even in _my_ place to make a decision like that. Your recklessness could’ve put her in even more danger and she didn’t deserve that. You knew what happened to John and you knew it would have hurt Felicity, had your plan worked.”

Curtis swallowed hard, fully realizing what his actions could have caused. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me. You have to apologize to Felicity. I actually hope you already did that.”

Curtis adverted his eyes.

“Are you kidding me?” He couldn’t believe this. After six weeks he didn’t say ‘sorry’ to a friend he almost hurt.

“It’s kind of our fault too, Hoss.”

“Yeah, we were focused on the referendum so much that we didn’t see her, just called.” Dinah explained to him. “It doesn’t excuse us, but it’s the truth.”

He closed his eyes and sighed. “Okay. But you will apologize to her, first thing as soon as you see her. And John too.”

“I apologized to John…” He said, sounding unsure. Rene and Dinah’s looks said otherwise. “… Didn’t I?”

Oliver just shook his head and opened the car door, sitting on the backseat.

“I brought you your bag, the one you kept in the car and then left at ARGUS. Thought you might wanted to change out of those clothes.” Rene told him, indicating the bag next to him. “Do you need help with your shoulder?”

He nodded. “Thank you.”

They quickly set it in place with only a small grunt from Oliver at the pain.

Then Dinah started the car and they drove away, the prison behind them became smaller until they couldn’t see it anymore.

→

When they arrived at ARGUS Dinah suggested him to change in one of the restrooms while she looked for Felicity and William.

Oliver agreed, not wanting to face his family with blood on him. Taking the bag from Rene he went to the nearest restroom.

He changed, with a little difficulty because of the shoulder, and took care of the cut on his thigh. It needed stitches but it could wait. The mirror reflected his face, a bruise forming on his jaw and another one near his eye. His chest wasn’t any better, but at least it didn’t hurt.

He washed away all of the blood he found on his body and then put on the clean sweatpants and the t-shirt from the bag.

The prison suit was on the floor. He grabbed it and threw it in the garbage can, feeling a little satisfied.

Oliver opened the door and Rene was there, holding his phone to him. He hesitantly took it.

“Hi, Ollie.”

He closed his eyes and sighed. “Speedy.”

“Rene just called me, saying you’re finally out and for good this time. I’m so happy about that.” The tone of her voice told him she was smiling.

“Yeah, apparently there isn’t an anti-vigilante law anymore, so… I’m not sure how they let me out, knowing I still killed in the past, but I honestly don’t care. Right now I just want to see my wife and kid.”

His sister quietly laughed. “You’re right. Listen, I’ll let you go and I’ll call you later, when Roy will be back from the store so you can talk to him too.”

“That would be great.”

“Bye, Ollie. I love you.”

“I love you too, Speedy.” He hung up, smiling to himself.

He gave the phone back to Rene, who was standing a few feet away from him giving him privacy.

“Thank you, Rene.” He said sincerely.

“No problem, Hoss.” He shrugged, as if it wasn’t a big deal, but Oliver knew he appreciated the sentiment.

He saw Dinah coming their way.

“Did you find them?” Oliver could hear the impatience in his own voice.

“No, but I called John. He said that they are in the hospital section of the building, and before you worry, he said that they’re fine. Felicity is getting her chip checked out.”

When Oliver heard her say ‘hospital’ his heart missed a beat, but her fast reassurances calmed him down -if only a little.

They started to make their way to them.

“So her chip is still not working?”

“The other day she sent me a message, said that she was done with the coding, she just needed to update it or something, but then William got sick and they delayed the big day when they will turn it on again.”

“William got sick?”

“Yeah, headache, upset stomach and fever, but he’s fine. John confirmed it to me two minutes ago.”

They walked in silence after that. Oliver was nervous, the thought of seeing them again made his hands shake in excitement.

They rounded the corner and saw John ten feet ahead of them, his back against the wall while he stared at the door in front of him with a small smile on his face. When he noticed them approaching he didn’t waste time and opened his arms.

“Hey, Oliver. I’m so glad you can be here.”

Oliver hugged his friend and when they separated he replied. “Me too, John. Me too.”

“I can’t wait for you to find out.” John told him laughing.

Oliver furrowed his brow, just when the door in front of them opened.

“John! Felicity is… Dad?”

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: William's reaction to Oliver's return and what's going on with Felicity.


	13. Run back to my arms and they will hold you down.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> William's reaction to Oliver's return and what's going on with Felicity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised here's a new chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it!
> 
> Title from "Run" by Pink.

The door in front of them opened and William stepped outside smiling widely.

“John! Felicity is…” He stopped abruptly, his smile grew even more. “Dad?”

Oliver had tears in his eyes. He only took a step closer to his son when he found himself in a tight hug.

“You’re really here! John and Lyla told us, but we didn’t really believe them… But you’re here and you’re staying!”

William held him even tighter, hurting him where he had bruises from the fight, but he didn’t care. He didn’t care because his son was hugging him and they were both happy. He could handle a little pain.

“Yes, buddy. I’m staying.” Oliver kissed the crown of his head. “Oh boy, you got taller in six weeks, how is it possible that you grew so much in so little time?” They all laughed.

“The other week Felicity had to buy me new clothes because the older ones didn’t fit anymore.” Then William let go of him and looked at him with the biggest smile he’s ever seen on his son’s face.

“Dad, come with me! You have to see Felicity!” He started to drag him towards the slightly open door with so much strength that he moved Oliver a good three feet from where he was standing.

“Okay, I’m coming. I’m coming.” He laughed at his excitement.

He heard a “Good luck.” From John. Why would he need luck?

They entered the room and his heart skipped a beat.

Felicity was there, in the middle of the room wearing an hospital gown.

And she was standing.

Lyla had an arm around her back and one hand was holding Felicity’s arm to support her, but she was standing on her feet and carefully moving one leg in front of the other.

She was walking.

The chip was working again.

She looked up when she saw movement in front of her and froze.

“Felicity.” An amazed whisper left Oliver’s lips.

She stared at him with wide eyes for a long moment, like she didn’t really believe he was there in front of her.

“Oliver.”

She reached out her hands to him and he rushed to her when he saw her legs shake. As soon as his arms were around her middle she let him support her weight.

“Hey, I got you. It’s okay.” He told her softly.

“Felicity, is something wrong?” Lyla asked her. “Is it the chip? Or…”

She shook her head. “No. No, it’s working perfectly, I just have to take it easy.”

They saw Lyla nod in understanding. “I’m gonna leave you alone, if you need anything just yell, we’re close by. And welcome back, Oliver.”

“Thank you.”

She left the room and quietly closed the door.

With his wife in his arms and his son a few feet away, Oliver felt whole again.

“Can you walk to the bed or you want me to carry you?”

Felicity thought about it. He knew that she wanted to do it herself, but her hesitancy told him that she knew her body wasn’t ready yet.

“Can you help me walk there?” A compromise.

“Okay.”

They made their way there, slowly and carefully, his arms around her supporting her just enough that she won’t fall or strain herself.

When she was laying on the bed, she started to talk.

“I can’t believe you’re actually here. I mean, I thought about this plan, the body-cam videos, but I didn’t think it was going to work, and so soon from the moment I told Curtis. I thought it’d take more time.”

He sat in the chair next to the bed and William did the same on her other side.

“And when you were out, after the Diaz’s thing, I honestly forgot about it, that’s why I didn’t tell you.”

“Hey, you had a lot to think about. I’m just glad it worked and I’m here now.”

She smiled at him.

“So you needed surgery for the chip? That’s why you’re here?”

Felicity looked at William and they both smiled. “No. Actually, we were already here and I took the chance to ask for their techs’ opinion about the fix. They agreed that it was harmless and we updated the code. We did that a few hours ago and now it works.” She wiggled her toes to show them and smiled happily.

“That’s amazing. You’re amazing.” He took her hand and kissed it. Then a thought occurred to him.

“Wait, why were you already here?” He looked at William. “Dinah told me you were sick, is everything okay?”

William was smiling. “Yeah, I’m fine. I don’t have the fever anymore. But we weren’t here for me. Felicity needed a doctor.”

Oliver looked at his wife and before he could say a word she explained. “I’m fine. Don’t worry. I… We came here because there’s some… News. Last night I realized something and I needed a doctor to confirm it, so we came here.”

He frowned in confusion and she took a deep breath.

“Oliver… I’m pregnant.”

She saw him stop breathing. The confusion was replaced by shock.

“Are you serious?” He whispered.

She nodded and turned to William. “Hey, Will. Why don’t you show him?”

He was already handing them the picture. Oliver took it and stared at it for a long time.

There was just a black spot with a tiny grey dot in the middle, an arrow pointed at it with the word ‘BABY’ next to it. The picture didn’t show him much, but it made it real. She was carrying a baby in her womb. Their baby.

Felicity started to worry when he didn’t say anything and glanced at William who shrugged unsure.

She thought Oliver would be happy to hear the good news. He loved William and loved being a father, he even told him so, but right now she wondered why he wasn’t reacting.

“Oliver?” Her voice shook in fear. Fear that this wasn’t what he wanted.

He looked at her, tears in his eyes. “You’re pregnant.”

“I am… And you’re not reacting how I thought you would.” She confessed.

His eyes quickly shifted from her to William a couple of times, in that way he always did when he didn’t understand what she was saying. “What?”

Her heart was beating wildly in her chest. She was trembling and she was sure he could feel that, since he was still holding her hand.

“You just found out that you’re gonna be a father again and you’re just… You’re staring at that picture motionless, saying nothing. And you don’t look happy about it.”

He realized she was right.

Not about the not-happy part, but about his reaction. For some reason he wasn’t showing it to her, to them, how he felt in this moment. And now they thought the worst.

He was an idiot.

“No, no, no! I’m happy, I swear. I… I just got out of jail, where I had to keep my emotions well hidden, so maybe I’m still adjusting. But this… I just got the two of you back and now there’s this _baby_ …” He was smiling now, a sincere, blinding smile. “This is one of the best moments of my life.”

Oliver stood from the chair and leaned down to softly press his lips against hers, their hands still entwined. When they broke apart he asked her “Is the baby okay?”

Felicity nodded. “The doctor said that everything looks good. I have an appointment in four weeks for another ultrasound.”

“I’ll be there. I promise.” He was going to keep this promise, no matter what.

“I hoped you’d say that.” She squeezed his hand and he squeezed back.

“Are you happy?”

She smiled and nodded vigorously her head. “Very much.”

He returned her smile, then looked at William. “What about you, buddy? Are you okay with this?”

“I’m super okay with this. I’m gonna be a big brother!” He clapped his hands excitedly. Oliver was amazed by his son’s reaction and couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“This young man has been amazing.” Felicity declared holding out her free hand to William, who immediately took it. “He stayed in here the whole time holding my hand.”

His cheeks turned pink.

Oliver gave him a soft look. “I’m so proud of you, William.”

“We saw the baby on the monitor. I mean, I don’t know what we saw because the doctor said that the baby is basically the size of a pea and not completely formed yet. But we heard the heartbeat!” His eyes widened in amazement.

“You did?” Oliver couldn’t even begin to imagine what that must have felt like. He hoped he will be able to hear it very soon himself.

“Yeah, that was pretty cool.”

Oliver had tears in his eyes. Everything about this day was perfect.

He was out of prison, his wife and son were okay, there was a baby on the way and the three of them couldn’t wait to meet him or her.

They were finally happy.

“Come here you two.”

Leaning over the bed, Oliver opened his arms and hugged the both of them, just like that time in the courtroom when he’s been told he was free to go.

After a while they let go and Felicity looked at him with a worried expression.

“What?” He asked her.

“Are you okay?” She caressed his jaw, where he knew there was the shadow of a bruise and knew she meant if he was okay physically.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it.”

“I do worry about it. Oliver, you have bruises and cuts on your face, you’re not moving your arm and you’re careful to not put any weight on your left leg, which I just noticed it’s bleeding.”

He followed her gaze and sure enough there was a blood stain on the sweatpants. It needed stitches, now.

“What happened to you?”

He sighed. “Some guys found out about my trip outside. They didn’t like it.”

Felicity wasn’t entirely convinced with his story, she knew there was more to it, but when Oliver quickly glanced at William she understood that he didn’t want him to know the details. She’ll come back on the topic later, when they were alone.

“Why don’t you guys go look for a doctor to check that leg out while I change? Then we can go home.”

Oliver shook his head. “I’m not leaving you alone, you might fall again and hurt yourself and the baby. I’m staying.”

The wave of protectiveness that he felt took him by surprise. He’s always been protective toward Felicity and William, but this time it was stronger.

“Dad, what if I ask John to get you a doctor while you help Felicity?”

He looked at his son and nodded. “That’s a good idea, but don’t get a doctor, ask John if Felicity needs to sign release papers so we can go. I can deal with my injuries at home.”

“Okay.” He started to run towards the door, but stopped, turned to him and went to hug him. “I’m so happy you’re back, dad.”

Oliver closed his eyes and savored the moment. They’ve come a long way from the first time they went home together. “Me too, buddy.”

Then William left, looking for John.

After the door closed, Felicity asked him to get the bag that was on the table in front of the bed, inside there were her clothes. He made his way back to his wife, who was already standing on her own and put the bag on the bed.

“You good?”

“Yeah, I feel stronger than before, but just make sure to catch me if I fall.” She told him only half joking.

“You know that I will.” He told her seriously and they looked into each other’s eyes.

In that moment nothing else existed, just the two of them.

Suddenly she launched herself at him and kissed him passionately. He didn’t waste time and kissed her back. Their mouths never breaking apart and their tongues tasting each other.

They kissed for a while, then their lungs asked for oxygen and they separated, but still held onto each other.

“I missed this.” Felicity said.

“Me too, honey.” He playfully kissed the tip of her nose, making her laugh, like he knew she would. “Come on, let’s get you dressed so we can go.”

She nodded and started to take off the gown. “So, do you want to tell me the real reason of the fight?”

“Some guys found out I got out and they didn’t like it.” He repeated his earlier words while he handed her a t-shirt.

Taking it, she replied “And?”

“And they said… Some things.” Now he was angry.

“Oliver. The whole truth, please.” She didn’t miss how she had to say these exact same words to William weeks ago.

“They said things about my time outside that didn’t matter, but then they called you _nicknames_ and hinted that… I promoted you as my EA at Queen Consolidated _not_ because of your resume.” He was angry again at those idiots.

Felicity finished putting on her pants and internally screamed at the small victory of doing it while standing, all by herself.

“And with nicknames do you mean ‘crippled whore’?” She bitterly laughed.

“ _What_?” He was pissed off.

“Uh, forget about it. Let’s go.” She made to leave, but he stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm.

“Felicity, explain that sentence. Please.”

Sighing she told him about William’s fight at school of three weeks ago.

“They probably heard their parents say those things, it’s not really those kids’ fault if their parents don’t know how to properly educate them. Anyway, they got suspended and after a few days one got expelled because he bullied another kid. Everything’s fine now.”

He sighed.

“Oliver, William did a good thing. I’m not sure about the punching part, but he did it with the best intentions, defending my condition and my honor. He has a good heart, just like you.” She rested her hand on his chest, where she felt the comforting beating of his heart.

“I know, and I’m proud of him. I’m not mad that he got into a fight -and actually followed my advice- I’m mad that people keep thinking those things about you even years after QC doesn’t exist anymore.”

Felicity raised on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “I know, and I love you all the more for it.”

Oliver smiled at her choice of words.

Then she took a small step back, her eyes never leaving his, she reached under her shirt and pulled out the thin chain she had around her neck. She unclasped it and slid the ring off of it.

Earlier they were so focused on the conversation that he didn’t even notice she still had it there.

She took his left hand and with a smile she put the wedding ring where it belonged.

The feeling of the band around his finger finally convinced him that this was really happening, that he wasn’t dreaming or hallucinating.

“I’m so glad you are here. Not just because William and I missed you and because you didn’t deserve that life in jail… But because you can be here for this baby too. He or she doesn’t deserve to grow up without a father like William did, like I did. And you can’t miss on another child’s life.”

Oliver squeezed her hand, not knowing how to respond to her.

“Also because I’m a little terrified at the prospect of raising a child. I mean, I love William and -like I said to him- even if we don’t share the same blood I consider him my son too. But he’s already twelve, and I don’t know exactly what to expect from a newborn, I’ll need a completely different kind of approach and I-”

“Hey, it’s okay, breathe.” He saw her panicking and tried to calm her down, speaking softly to her and running his hands over her arms in a comforting gesture. “It’s okay, I’m here. We’ll face whatever challenge life will throw at us together. We’ll raise this baby together.”

Felicity nodded and Oliver saw her relax at his words.

“I’ll forever regret not being present for William during his childhood, even when it wasn’t my choice. But if it’s any comfort, it means we’ll both go through this pregnancy thing for the first time, together. And it scares me too, the thought of doing something wrong, but I do know two things.”

They both smiled at his words.

“The first is that we’ll be good parents, William is proof of that. Of course Samantha did most of the work, but we’re still a good influence for him, so I count that as being good parents ourselves. And the second thing is that this baby will be loved so much. I don’t know about you but I already love this little angel and I’ve known about it for less than an hour. As soon as you said the word ‘pregnant’ I fell in love.”

Tears ran down her face, but Felicity didn’t bother to wipe them away. His words touched her heart in the best possible way.

“Oh, I can assure you it’s the same for me. I found out last night and even before the test confirmed it I knew that I wanted it, no matter how scared I was.”

He smiled at her. “And I’m ready to bet that William feels the same way.”

“Yeah, I’m sure of that too.”

“See? We’re a good influence for him.”

As if summoned up, the door opened and William entered the room followed by John, who smiled at them.

“Hey, it’s good to see you standing again.”

“It’s good to stand again.”

“I’m happy for you. For this and for the baby. It’s one of the best experiences in the world.”

“It already is.” She looked at William. “Just like being able to raise you and have you in our lives.”

She didn’t want for this situation to be awkward for him, talking about the baby like the best thing happening to them and making him feel left out.

He looked at her and smiled.

John’s phone beeped and he looked at it. “I’m sorry guys, but there’s something that requires my attention. Felicity, your release it’s already been taken care of, you can go whenever you feel like it. I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye, John. And thank you again.” Felicity told him.

“No problem.” He left and closed the door.

Oliver looked at the two -technically now three- most important people of his life.

“Let’s go home.”

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Oliver, Felicity and William go back home.


	14. If I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver, Felicity and William go back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a new chapter. Enjoy!
> 
> Title from "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol (song that I highly recommend because it's beautiful).

Home.

That word has been on a loop in his head for the entire drive there.

Now they were in front of the door and he was shaking. It was ridiculous, he lived in this apartment for almost an year, he was familiar with it and yet something was bothering him.

It was probably the fear of what he will find once inside. The last time he was in there, people shot at him and his family.

He had a flash of broken glass littering the floor, bullet holes covering the door of his son’s bedroom and people on the ground unconscious.

Felicity must have sensed his uneasiness because she entwined their fingers and squeezed them tightly to get his attention.

Oliver looked at her and she gave him a gentle smile. “It’s alright. John and Lyla fixed it and upgraded the security measures. It’s even safer than the bunker.”

“Diaz’s men destroyed the bunker.” He reminded her.

“Yeah. Which is why the apartment is safer.”

“Felicity…”

“Oliver. Nothing is gonna happen once we’re inside. Nothing and no one can hurt us there. We’re safe, trust me.”

He looked into her eyes.

He trusted her, he’s trusted her since the first moment he walked into her cubicle, walked into her life.

“I will always trust you.”

Felicity didn’t miss his choice of words, his call back to one of his lowest moments, one of their lowest moments. When they were at odds, when she didn’t think he trusted her. When he finally confessed it was himself he didn't trust. Oliver repeating the exact same words was his way of showing her how he really believed that. How he really trusted her.

Smiling at him she squeezed his hand one more time, then proceeded to unlock the door and quickly disarm the alarm once inside.

Oliver and William followed her and she saw how her husband looked around, as if checking that no one was really there. No matter how safe he could feel at home, his first instinct was always to make sure it was safe.

She nodded at him and he went to search the other rooms.

“What is he doing?” William asked her.

“He’s making sure no one broke in.”

She sat on the couch, her legs tired after all the work they did today, and let out a deep sigh.

“But you just told him that it’s safe, and he said he trusts you.” His face told her he was confused by his father’s behavior.

“I know, but your dad is like this. I believe he trusted what I said and that he trusts me, but he needs to make sure it’s safe. That’s who he is and it’s one of the many reasons why I love him.”

Oliver chose that moment to come back to them, his face finally relaxed.

“And I love you.” He looked at her, then at his son. “I love the both of you, that’s why I have to do this.”

They smiled at him and it brought a smile on his own face. An idea came to his mind and he clapped his hands together.

“So… How about dinner? It’s almost 9 pm, are you hungry?”

“Actually, I’m pretty tired. I think I’m gonna go to bed early.” William said.

The smile on Oliver’s face faltered. “Oh, okay. Are you sure you don’t want anything? I can make breakfast for dinner.”

“Yeah, I’d really like to stay with you two, but I’m about to fall asleep. Maybe we can have breakfast for dinner tomorrow?” He asked with a hopeful expression on his face.

“Of course, buddy.” Oliver’s smile came back, happy that his son wasn’t avoiding him or the both of them. Three of them.

He opened his door and stopped, smiling at them. “I’m really happy you’re home, dad. And I’m very excited to become a big brother. I can’t wait for that baby to be born.”

“We’re happy about that too, Will. Just like we’re happy you’re here with us.” Felicity said and Oliver nodded agreeing with her.

They said their goodnights and then Oliver and Felicity were alone.

“Come on, we need to take care of that leg.” She pointed at it and he noticed the blood stain was bigger now.

“Alright.” He extended his hands for her to take and helped her up. It was amazing how her balance was so good after just a few hours, but he wasn’t surprised by that, knowing how strong his wife was.

They walked hand in hand, only letting go when they reached their bedroom. Felicity got the things she needed for his injuries, while Oliver took off his pants and sat on the edge of the bed. Removing the bandage around the wound he noticed how bad it actually was, a few inches on the side and he would have bled out in a few minutes.

Felicity came back, sat on the floor and looked at it. She froze and Oliver knew she realized the same thing he just did.

Swallowing hard she took a deep breath and started to work, apologizing every time he winced as the antiseptic stung. Before stitching the cut, she tried to give him some anesthetic but he refused, just like she knew he would.

He watched her as she worked, carefully and precisely. When she was done she told him to take off the shirt so she could check him for other injuries. He reluctantly did and she gasped when she saw his chest covered in bruises.

He grabbed her hands, they were shaking.

“How bad is it?” Her voice trembled too.

“It doesn’t hurt. It looks worse than how it actually is. And now it’s over.”

She weakly nodded, then worked on the cut on his arm and his eyebrow. They didn’t need stitches but she wiped them with the antiseptic to avoid infections.

She finished and then lead him to the bathroom. They stripped in silence and entered the shower.

They cleaned each other, Felicity being careful of his injuries. At one point Oliver kneeled in front of her and tenderly kissed her abdomen.

“Daddy loves you, little one.” He whispered against her.

She didn’t hear what he said, but the action brought tears to her eyes and she gently ran her fingers through his hair.

He looked up at her and slowly kissed his way up her body.

The hot water streamed down on them, while they stood under the spray, staring at each other unmoving. Then, like a switch had been flipped, they attacked each other’s mouth. They both moaned as their tongues danced, hands touching every body part within their reach.

He moved them around and pressed her against the wall. Needing to fell more of him, Felicity hiked up her right leg and rested it against his hip. He grabbed under her knee and did the same with her other leg, so she could wrap them around his waist.

As soon as their lower parts came into contact, they both moaned at the sensation. Oliver tore his mouth away and Felicity let out a protesting whimper, feeling the loss of his lips on hers.

He stared deeply into her eyes. “Are you okay?”

Biting her lip she nodded. “Yeah. Everything is perfect.”

She moved her hips and Oliver closed his eyes, the friction making him sigh.

“Felicity, can you… Are you sure we can do this? With the chip and the baby… I don’t want to hurt you in any way.”

She ran her fingers from his hair to his cheeks, the feeling of his familiar stubble making this all the more real.

“It’s okay. When we were waiting for the chip to start working again, John convinced William to go with him to get us some food and I took the chance to ask the doctors what I couldn’t ask in front of him. Knowing you were coming home I knew I had to ask about sex. I can do whatever I want, as long as I want to.” She smiled at him.

“And do you want it, right now?” He asked, his voice hoarse.

“I want to.” She bit her lip in thought. “But maybe we can continue in the bedroom? I don’t think either of us can really stand after today’s events. You know, with my legs and your leg and your shoulder- oh my God, your shoulder!” Her eyes widened.

“It doesn’t hurt.”

“You shouldn’t hold me up with a dislocated shoulder.” She tried to get down, but he didn’t let go.

“It’s not dislocated, it’s back in again. It’s okay, I promise.” He kissed her softly, then smiled mischievously at her. “So, rain check for shower sex?”

“Of course.”

He let go of her this time and they got out of the shower, quickly drying themselves and going back into their bedroom.

Once on the bed, they both felt something change. Their movements were slower, they were taking their time exploring the other’s body.

Oliver was laying on his back and Felicity was on top of him. Her left hand rested over his heart while her right was trailing over his abs. His hands on top of her thighs, his thumbs making slow circles there, the cold feel of their wedding rings a contrast to the warmth of their hands and their bodies.

All the while they stared into each other’s eyes. She slowly leaned down and kissed him, her tongue seeking entrance and he gladly opened his mouth, his own tongue craving to taste her.

Oliver gently started to move his hips against her, then positioned himself and she slowly sunk down on him.

Felicity let out a deep breath and rested her forehead against his shoulder. Running his hands up and down her back he whispered, “You good?”

He felt her nod and he gave her a moment. “Yeah, it’s just… Last time I didn’t feel this, but now I do and it’s intense. It’s like that time in the bunker.”

He remembered that time, he could never forget about it. It was their first time after she gained back the use of her legs, the first time after they broke up. He remembered and he knew what to do.

He needed to wait for her, and he needed to show her how much he cared about her. So he tenderly left a trail of kisses, from her shoulder to her neck to her earlobe, all the while his hands gently took a hold of her wrists.

His thumbs stroked over the scars she had from her kidnapping and the action reminded her what he told her after the event.

_You’ll have to see them as a sign of your strength._

She was strong.

Just this morning she was a paralyzed stepmother of a teenager, about to face her first pregnancy while her husband was in prison. But, as scary as the thought of doing all of that alone was, she was ready to do it.

So yes, she was strong.

With that thought, she looked at Oliver and started to move.

Their hips moving in sync, the hands in constant motion touching the other, the pleasure running through their bodies and the sensations that she hadn’t felt in a long time, were enough for Felicity to build up her orgasm in no time.

“Oliver.” It was a desperate whisper.

“Come here, baby.”

He gathered her in his arms and hugged her tightly, his hips thrusting into her, he doubled his efforts to give her the release she needed.

At one particular thrust he changed the angle and she gently bit his shoulder to prevent the scream she was about to let out as her body shook.

He felt her warm breaths against his collarbone, soft moans escaping her mouth as she continued to shake.

When she collapsed on top of him Oliver slowed down, until he completely stopped. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” She mumbled weakly. “Sorry if it was too soon, but-”

“Shh, you don’t have to apologize. I’m glad you were able to feel all of this again.”

He kissed the top of her head and then made to slid out of her.

“Whoa, hey where do you think you’re going?” She firmly sank down on him so they wouldn’t disconnect.

“You’re tired.”

“No, I’m not. You’re finally here with me, turned on and still _inside_ of me. I am very much awake.”

She barely finished her sentence when he rolled them around, Oliver on top kissing her passionately.

He moved again, his thrusts more powerful, fueled by her words. His hand gripped her thigh so tightly he feared it was going to leave a bruise, so he let go, only to barely rest his hand there.

But she knew what he was doing and grabbed his wrist, squeezing it to let him know that she wanted to feel him now that she could.

Their mouths never left the other and their tongues danced together. Oliver gently bit her lower lip and Felicity moaned, her nails scratching his back in response.

Oliver was getting closer to his release. “Oh, baby…”

“Please don’t stop, Oliver.” She gasped, close to another orgasm.

His thrusts became more frantic and when he pushed deeper they both came together. Bodies shaking and breaths coming out in short pants, they looked into each other’s eyes, the connection they loved so much was there, and it was everything.

When they got their bodies under control he slipped out of her, both whimpering at the loss of contact. He helped her clean up and then got under the sheets.

Oliver opened his arms and she went to lay her head on his chest, one arm hugging his torso.

“That was beautiful.” Felicity told him quietly.

“Yes, it was.”

She kissed the scar on his chest, the one that replaced his Bratva tattoo. “Welcome home, Oliver.”

He kissed her forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Their hands lazily ran over their bodies until they completely relaxed and fell asleep.

→

Oliver woke up when he heard noises coming from close by. He looked to the other side of the bed and found it empty. He quickly got up and put on a pair of boxers, then entered the bathroom.

Felicity was sitting on the floor and trying to get up, her face was pale and beads of sweat covered her forehead.

“Hey. Are you okay?” He crouched next to her and put one hand on her arm and with the other gently brushed away a damp strand of hair that was stuck to her forehead.

She weakly nodded. “Yeah, just morning sickness, I guess.”

“Has it happened before?”

“No. Well, yes. I mean, I was sick last week, but then William got sick too so I thought it was some kind of stomach bug. Now I’m thinking mine was morning sickness all along.”

He rubbed a comforting hand up and down her back. “How are you feeling?”

“Tired.” She leaned on the hand that was cradling her head and closed her eyes.

“Do you want me to carry you to the bed?”

“No, thanks. I just need to brush my teeth, but in the meantime you could make me that special tea you used to make when I didn’t feel well?” She asked him hopefully.

“Anything for you.” He made to kiss her but she pushed him away.

“What part of ‘need to brush my teeth’ you didn’t catch?”

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head.

“Come on.” He stood and offered his hands, which she gladly accepted.

When he was sure she wasn’t going to fall he left her and made his way to the kitchen. He stopped on the threshold and watched what was happening in front of him.

William had his back to him and was focused on arranging the plates on the table, trying to not make any sound, probably so he wouldn’t wake them up. On the table there were three empty plates, orange juice, butter, jam, toasted bread and fruit.

Oliver felt warmth in his chest at seeing all of this. He made sure to make some noise when he got closer, so he wouldn’t scare his son, and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, buddy.”

He looked up at him with a smile. “Hi, dad.” Oliver could see in his eyes the happiness at seeing him at home again.

“What are you doing up so early? It’s not even 7:30 yet.”

“Well, I went to sleep early yesterday and I’m not tired anymore, so I thought I could surprise you. You and Felicity.”

“This is amazing, William. Thank you.”

He hugged him to his chest and froze when he remembered he wasn’t wearing a shirt. William never saw him shirtless, he knew he had scars but Oliver made sure to never show them to him, not wanting to scare him.

“Dad?”

“Yeah?” His throat tightened.

“Are you okay?” He let go of him and stared at his chest.

Oliver held his breath in anticipation and fear. “I’m fine.” He choked out.

William’s eyes ran over all of his scars, never stopping. “Those are a lot of scars. Do they hurt?”

“No. They hadn’t hurt in a long time.” He meant it both physically and emotionally. Since Felicity came into his life he started to heal body, mind and soul.

“Do you think I will get your abs when I’ll grow up?”

And just like that the fear of repulsion disappeared, replaced with love and amusement. Oliver laughed and ruffled his hair. “It’ll be a long time before I’ll let you train with my equipment, young man.”

“But I already know how to punch. Felicity told me to keep my wrist straight so I don’t jam it again, so…”

Oliver had a flashback of a conversation with his wife. When Black Siren first showed up and he found Felicity in the bunker letting out her anger on his punching bag. He also remembered that she followed his advice when she later faced evil-Laurel. A ‘ _Hey, pumpkin_ ’ resounding in his head.

Pushing that aside he focused on what his son was actually saying.

“Buddy, Felicity told me what happened at school a few weeks ago.”

William adverted his eyes, afraid of the disappointment he might see on his father’s face.

“Hey… I’m really proud of what you did.”

He looked up at him in surprise. “Really?”

“Really. I probably shouldn’t say this, but I’m happy you did what you did. You defended Felicity and that means a lot to me. And it means a lot to her too.”

“Thank you, dad.”

They smiled at each other and then they heard Felicity joining them in the room, wearing sweatpants and one of Oliver’s shirts.

“Did you get superpowers in prison or Barry made us a quick visit?” She said looking at the table. “Or it took me a lot to get dressed?”

He chuckled. “Actually, William did all of this by himself.” He told her while helping her on the chair.

“Wow, this is amazing, Will. Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.” His cheeks turned pink.

“No, it’s not nothing. It’s a beautiful surprise.”

Squeezing her shoulder Oliver made to leave. “I’ll make you your tea.”

“No, wait. Let’s not waste all of this. I feel a little better, I think I can manage juice and toasted bread.”

He looked at her for confirmation and she nodded.

“Okay, then.” He sat in front of his son and next to Felicity, who was at the head of the table as usual.

“Let’s have breakfast together.”

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Oliver and Felicity go to the appointment together, names and a few more things are discussed.


	15. We keep this love in a photograph, we make these memories for ourselves.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity go to the appointment together, names and a few more things are discussed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the last chapter, enjoy!
> 
> Chapter's title from "Photograph" by Ed Sheeran.

_One month later._

Oliver and Felicity were walking down the corridor in the ARGUS hospital section.

“Are you nervous?” Felicity asked him, squeezing his hand.

“Am I that obvious?”

“Well, your hand is trembling, you keep rubbing your fingers together and you're looking at me like I’m about to disappear at any moment.” She told him with a knowing smile, which made him chuckle.

“Yeah. I mean, I’m about to see this baby for the first time. It’s kinda scary, which doesn’t make sense because I’m excited and I can’t wait to see it.”

Felicity stopped and looked at him. “Oliver, it’s gonna be okay. I was scared too the first time, not really knowing what was going on. But with William there and the thought of a little part of you inside me were everything I needed, and they gave me strength.”

She let go of his hand and rested her hands on his cheeks. “It’s one of the most wonderful things you’ll ever see. Trust me.” She raised on her tiptoes and kissed him softly.

“And the heartbeat. I wanna hear the heartbeat, William said it’s even better than the pictures.” He patted his pocket, the one where he kept his wallet, to remind her of the photos he kept there.

→

_On his second day at home, William gave him one of the copies of the sonogram. Oliver immediately put it in his wallet -which he found out was still where he left it, untouched._

_Opening it, he realized that inside he kept a picture of him and Felicity, one with his sister and now the one of the baby. He had no picture with William._

_His son must have noticed too, because he was quiet and had a sad look on his face._

_Putting down the wallet, Oliver took out his phone. “Come here, buddy. I want a picture with you too.”_

_“Nah, it’s okay dad. You don’t have to-”_

_“William. I’d really like to have a picture of you and me in my wallet. I keep my entire family in there, and you are my family.”_

_William hugged him tightly. “I love you, dad.”_

_Oliver embraced him and kissed the top of his head. “I love you too.”_

_They stayed like that for a while, then William said “Dad?”_

_“Yeah?”_

_“I wanna take that picture… But no selfies, please. I hate them.”_

_That made him laugh. “Alright, we’ll ask Felicity, okay?”_

_“Yeah, that’s definitely better.” He smiled._

_In that moment they heard a click followed by noise. Turning around they saw Felicity with a Polaroid in her hands._

_“I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but as soon as I heard that you wanted a picture I guessed you meant immediately, so what better than this?” She held out the picture to them and Oliver took it. “I just needed to wait for the right moment.”_

_And she captured the perfect moment. In the picture father and son were holding each other, both with their eyes closed but matching smiles on their faces._

_“It’s perfect.” Oliver took his wallet, opened it and put the new picture right next to the sonogram._

_“Felicity, that camera… Does it have a timer?” William asked her._

_“No, but it has a remote, why?”_

_“I thought maybe we could take a picture together… The three of us. Well, four with the baby.”_

_Oliver and Felicity looked at each other and smiled._

_“That would be really nice.”_

→

So now he had a picture with him and Felicity, one with his sister, the sonogram, one with William and one with Felicity and William -and the baby.

They started to walk again.

“Yeah, the heartbeat is amazing. The best thing in the world.”

They arrived to the doctor’s office and knocked. They heard someone say “Come in.” and opened the door.

They greeted the nurse, who told Felicity to get ready and that soon Dr. Schwartz will be there to visit her, then she left.

She changed and laid on the bed, Oliver didn’t waste time and brought a chair next to it, sat down and grabbed her hand.

“You know… I’ve waited this moment for a very long time. You, me and a baby on the way.” He told her.

“Me too. I mean, I know we never really talked about having kids, but I hoped that one day we’d be here.”

He smiled at her. “I actually remember the first time I wished for this.”

Felicity’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really?” He nodded. “When was it?”

“October 8th, 2014.”

She inhaled sharply, remembering the date. “When JJ was born. And we first kissed.”

He nodded. “Yeah. I saw you next to Lyla and JJ… And I realized I wanted that. I wanted a family with you. And don’t get me wrong, spending our time together with William is my favorite thing in the world, but you know… At that time I didn’t know about him, I didn’t know he’d be part of my life. All I knew was that I wanted to have what John and Lyla had. But I was an idiot, thinking I couldn’t be with you even if I loved you.”

“Yeah, definitely an idiot… But with a big heart, always with a big heart.”

He leaned down and kissed her, just when the door opened again.

“I’m sorry to interrupt.” Dr. Schwartz entered the room. “I should learn to knock, this kind of visit usually make couples even more in love than any other day. And I keep interrupting their kisses.” She told them with an apologetic smile.

“It’s okay, we’re… Actually you’re probably right, I’m starting to guess these visits are something unique.” Felicity told her.

“They are.” She sat on the chair next to her bed and started to fumble with the ultrasound machine. “And this is the first for the father. You must be excited.”

Oliver looked at Felicity and smiled. “Yes, definitely.”

Elisa looked at him for a couple of seconds studying him. “And nervous. Well, at least you don’t look like one of those who pass out.”

He chuckled. “Well, if our son didn’t pass out, I don’t think I will.”

She went to the end of the bed and started the visit. “Well, you might be wrong, Oliver. Many big and strong men feel too overwhelmed by this and end up on the floor. So, just because you are the Green Arrow, it doesn’t mean you’re safe on that front.”

“He won’t pass out. Passing out means not seeing the baby and he doesn’t want to miss it.” Felicity spoke while looking at him and he smiled at her.

“I won’t miss it this time.” He meant the visit, the birth and the childhood of the baby, and she knew it.

They let the doctor focus on her work and after some time she showed them the monitor she was looking at.

“There.”

They saw a small baby shape, with legs and arms moving around.

“Is it moving?” Felicity asked in wonder.

“Yes, it is. And don’t worry if you can’t feel it, it’s way too soon for that. It’s gonna be months before you will.”

“Months? That long?”

“Yeah, the baby is still too small for you to feel it. You probably won’t feel your baby kick until sometime between 16 and 22 weeks.” She explained.

Oliver swallowed hard. “Do you know the gender?”

Felicity laughed. “That’s exactly the second thing William asked.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“What was the first?” He was curious.

“The name.”

Oliver thought about it for a moment. “Maybe we can talk about it with him too?” He asked in a hopeful voice.

“I’d really like that.” Felicity smiled at him, then remembered something. “This morning he told me he had some things to ask us.”

“Yeah, he told me too, but I have no idea what they are about.” He told her thinking back to the conversation he had with his son. “We’ll talk about it tonight, okay?"

“Yeah.” Shaking her head, she went back to his first question. “Anyway, for the gender she said it’s usually around 15-18 weeks, right?” She asked the doctor for confirmation.

“Yes, that’s right.” She typed something on the machine. “And now we’re gonna check the heartbeat.”

Oliver looked at his wife and she squeezed his hand in anticipation.

They heard it, a constant beating, the reminder of a new life. A life they created together.

Felicity looked at Oliver and saw him staring at the screen with tears in his eyes.

Feeling the weight of her stare, he turned to her and smiled. “The best thing in the world.” He repeated her earlier words, his voice rough with emotion.

“Yeah.”

He leaned down and softly kissed her lips. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Oliver.”

There was a phone beeping, but they ignored it, lost in their moment.

“I’m so sorry, but it’s an emergency and I have to go. I can call someone else to continue here, but-”

“No, don’t worry, we can take our time on our next appointment.” Felicity told her.

“Just tell us how is going the pregnancy. Is everything okay?” Oliver asked.

“Yes, everything looks fine. The baby is growing perfectly according to standards, the heartbeat is strong like it should be and… I can tell that is being loved so much, which is also very important.” She replied with a smile, while giving them the new sonograms she just printed.

Oliver and Felicity smiled at them, then at each other.

“Yes it is.” Felicity said.

The phone beeped again and Oliver stood from the chair, holding out his hand. “Thank you for your time.”

Elisa took his hand and shook it. “It’s always good to make my patients happy like this. And I promise, next time we won’t be interrupted.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

She left, then Oliver helped Felicity to change. They worked in a comfortable silence, until Felicity spoke.

“So? Was it as good as you thought it’d be?”

“No. It was so much better.”

They left the room, hand in hand, happier than ever. They were almost out of ARGUS when a man approached them.

“Thomas. Hey, what are you doing here?” Oliver asked surprised.

“Hi. Well, Lyla Michaels called me a few weeks ago because ARGUS was investigating on corrupted guards and my superiors at Slabside, she needed information from the inside. We arrested some of them and now the prison has the best organization ever.”

“Wow, that’s fantastic.” Felicity told him.

“I’m happy to hear that, Thomas.” Oliver added.

“Yeah, I’m happy about it too. They needed to pay for how they behaved in that place.” He looked at Oliver and they all knew he meant for how they treated people like him.

“Which is also why I’m here.” Thomas continued.

Oliver furrowed his brows, not understanding. “What? Are you in trouble?”

He laughed. “No, not at all. Director Michaels offered me a job. Head of a new team, supervising all of the guards and directors in different prisons, to make sure everything is running how it’s supposed to.”

“I think that’s wonderful. Prisoners have rights too, they also deserve respect.” Felicity said, squeezing Oliver’s hand.

“It’s amazing, Thomas. And I’m happy we were able to see you again, under better circumstances this time.” Oliver held out his hand and Thomas shook it.

“Likewise, Oliver. I’ve also heard about your Mayoral re-election, congratulations.”

Three days after his public return, people in the city started a new campaign. A couple of weeks later they re-elected him as Mayor of Star City and officially welcomed him back as Green Arrow -except the criminals, of course.

So by day he worked as Mayor and by night he protected the city as a masked vigilante, with the support of the SCPD and without the worry of being arrested.

“Thank you, Thomas. And good luck with your new job. I’m sure you’ll live up to it.”

They made to leave, but Felicity stopped and hugged Thomas. “Thank you, for everything you did for him in that place.”

“It was the least I could do.” He responded.

They let go of each other and Thomas continued on his way to the offices. Oliver and Felicity walked out of the building and went home.

→

They entered their home and William ran to them.

“So? Did you see it? Did you hear the heartbeat?” He was impatient.

“Yes, buddy. And it was amazing, like you said.” Oliver told his son, giving him one of the sonograms.

“Wow… It looks like a little alien!”

Oliver and Felicity laughed.

“Just a little.” Felicity said. “And this time we saw it moving.”

“Really?” They nodded. “That’s so cool.”

They just sat on the couch when there was a knock at the door.

“I’ll go get it!” William yelled, already reaching for the door.

Oliver’s instincts kicked in and he made to get up and stop him, but Felicity rested a hand on his arm.

“It’s okay, look.” She indicated the monitor next to the door, the one that showed the camera feed from outside the door.

He relaxed, recognizing the two people standing there, just when William opened the door -having already checked the cameras.

“Auntie Thea! Roy!” He launched himself at them, almost throwing them off balance.

“Hey, munchkin! How are you?”

“I’m fine, super fine. Dad and Felicity just came back from the doctor and now I have a new picture to show you!”

They entered the room, Roy closing the door behind him. “Hi, guys. It’s good to see you again.”

They stood and Thea went to hug them both. “I’m so happy for you guys.”

After Oliver’s release they weren’t able to come back to visit, busy with their new mission around the world. They called everyday but it wasn’t the same.

→

_“It’s okay, Speedy.”_

_“… I mean, my brother getting out of prison and for good is something that should be a priority. It is a priority… But these guys are dangerous, they want to spread the word about the Lazarus Pits and it could potentially change the world.”_

_“I know. What you and Roy are doing is important, I understand. Don’t worry about me.” Oliver told her over the phone._

_“We’ll come back as soon as possible, Oliver. I promise.” Roy said._

_“I know, and we’ll be here to welcome you back home.” Oliver looked at Felicity who was sitting next to him on the couch, smiling at him._

_“Guys… We have to tell you something.” She started._

_“Is everything okay? You sound weird.” Thea asked in a worried tone._

_“Everything’s fine, perfect even. Felicity and I…” He couldn’t help but smile at his wife._

_“We are going to have a baby.” Felicity finished for him._

_Silence met them on the other side of the line, then they heard Thea scream and Roy laugh._

_“Oh, my god! This is amazing! I’m gonna be an aunt again!” They barely heard what she said because she was still screaming, but they felt the joy even without being able to see them._

_“Congratulations, guys.” Roy’s calmer voice reached them._

_“Thank you. We’re really happy about it.” Oliver told them._

_“Yes, we are. But just a few people know and we’d like to keep it that way for now.”_

_“Of course, guys. Who knows about it? I need to know so I can start to talk to them about gifts.”_

_They all laughed at Thea’s statement._

_“Only William, John, Lyla and Donna know.”_

_He saw the expression on his wife’s face and grinned._

_“Please don’t remind me of the call to my mother. My ear is still ringing after her screams.”_

_“I bet she was ecstatic.” They heard Thea say._

_“Yes, pretty much like you, but with way more screams.” Felicity confirmed._

_“And how did William react?” Roy asked._

_“He’s excited about it. He can’t wait for this baby to be born, much like us.” Oliver said proudly._

_“Then we’ll have to come back soon to plan the baby’s first few years of life.”_

→

Letting go of them Thea took Felicity’s hands in hers. “If there’s anything I can do to help, I’ll be happy to do it.”

“Thank you, Thea.” She said sincerely.

“So, how did the visit go?”

They told them everything, from the visit to meeting Thomas. Then they caught up with the rest while they had dinner.

They told them about Oliver’s mayoral activities, Green Arrow’s business, the teams working on their own but collaborating, William’s school project, their plans for the baby and Felicity’s ideas for a new company.

“ _Smoak Technologies_? I like it. It has a nice ring to it.” Thea said.

“Yeah, I decided I wanted to start something new, something that was mine.” Felicity said.

“So, you’re not working with that guy anymore? Uh, Curtis?” Roy asked her.

“We’ve had a discussion about him hacking my chip without second thoughts. And it wouldn’t have been a problem if he consulted Oliver or John before, even Rene or Dinah. But he did it on his own, knowing it would hurt me. I realize his final goal was to find me, but I can’t forget it, even if he apologized. So we decided to still help each other in times of need, but work on our own for everything else.”

“There’s also the fact that he hacked John’s chip months ago.” Oliver added. “Do you know if he apologized to John?”

“Yeah, Digg called me the day after I discussed with Curtis. He apologized to him too.”

“Well, I told him to do that, so…”

“ _Told him_? I’m sure you meant _scared him_.” Thea said with a knowing smile.

“Maybe you should’ve put an arrow in his knee.” Roy suggested and they all laughed, except William who had a confused face.

“What? Why?”

“Roy, don’t.” Oliver warned him.

“Oh, come on, Ollie. It’s a funny story. Kind of.” His sister said.

So they explained and laughed again when they were finished. The room filled with joy while they relived memories.

“So, William, I heard you have a date with a girl on Sunday…” Thea started, trying to hide a grin.

William’s cheeks became red with embarrassment. “It’s not a date, we are going to see a hockey match.”

“Oh, I thought you didn’t like hockey.” Roy teased him.

“Roy, behave.” Felicity warned him.

But William answered anyway. “Just because I’ve never watched a match it doesn’t mean that I won’t like it…”

“So who is the lucky girl?” Thea asked with a knowing smile on her face.

“Uh… Zoe. Ramirez.”

“Oh my God!” Thea clapped her hands in happiness and even jumped a little in her seat. “This is so sweet!”

“Speedy…” Oliver said in warning.

“What, Ollie?”

“You’re already planning their wedding, aren’t you?” Felicity said around a smile and Roy choked on the water he was drinking.

“I’m just happy my nephew is going out with a girl he likes.” Thea said innocently and they all laughed, William included -even if he was red as a tomato.

Later, William was playing videogames on the couch, Felicity and Thea were loading the dishwasher and cleaning up the kitchen, and Roy was talking to Oliver.

“Hey, uh… Can we talk for a minute?” He looked at the two women then back at him. “Somewhere private, please?”

Oliver studied him for a second before nodding.

“Yeah. Buddy, we’ll be right outside if you or the girls need us, okay?” He told his son while walking to the door.

“Okay, dad.” He responded without looking away from the game.

Oliver closed the door and looked at Roy. “Is there a problem? You look pale.”

“No, no. Nothing bad, I just needed to talk to you alone.” He took a deep breath. “I love Thea. I’ve loved her for a long time and even if we took different paths for some time… My love for her never changed.”

“Okay, that’s wonderful... But why do you need to talk to me about this?” Oliver had an idea of where this was going, but he decided to get more information before saying something.

“Thea is _it_ for me. And I would like to ask her to become my wife. But I feel like I need your approval before proposing tonight.”

With shaky hands, Roy took out of his pocket a red velvet box and opened it, revealing a ring with a small diamond shining under the lights.

“I know it’s not much, but as soon as I saw this it reminded me of her.”

Oliver smiled at him. “That’s amazing, Roy. She won’t care about the ring, she’ll only care about you proposing. Trust me.” He talked for experience, after all. “You both deserve to be happy and you have my blessing. You didn’t have to ask for it, but I appreciate the gesture.”

Roy sighed in relief. “Thank you, Oliver. It means a lot to me.” He held out his hand, but Oliver shoved it away and went for a hug.

“The only thing that matters to me is that she is happy. And you make her happy, so go for it. I’m sure she’ll be euphoric.”

After putting back the ring, they went back inside. Thea declared to be tired after the long drive and she wanted to go back at their hotel room to rest. She left with Roy, but not before Oliver gave him an encouraging nod.

“What was that about?” Felicity asked him curiously.

“I’m sure we’ll be hearing from Thea in about an hour.” He told her with a smile, which made her furrow her brow in confusion. “He wants to propose to Thea and asked for my blessing.”

“Oh my God… That’s amazing! And very sweet.” She told him with a loving smile.

“Yeah, it is.”

“Are you happy about it?”

“I’m happy if she’s happy. And from the looks of it she is, so… Yes, I am.” He told her truthfully.

“Hey, uh…” William approached them shyly. “You said you wanted to talk to me about something. And I had a few things I wanted to tell you too.”

Oliver looked at his wife. “Are you tired or are you up for it now?”

“I’ll never be tired for my boys.”

They both smiled at her words and they all sat on the couch, Felicity in the middle, feeling the love coming out in waves from both of them.

“Buddy, Felicity told me that you asked her what we would name this baby. I suggest we decide it together. What do you think?”

They really wanted to include him in their decisions, big or small that they were, so he won’t feel left out.

“I think that’s great.” He looked at Felicity to see if she was okay with it and she gave him a smile.

“So, Will. Do you have a name in mind?”

“Boy or girl?”

“Well, we’ll have to think for both until we know for sure.” Oliver reminded him.

“I don’t really know girls names…”

“If you don’t mind I’d like Dearden as a second name.” Oliver said. “That was my mother’s maiden name and is also Thea’s second name.”

“If it’s a girl I think we should do that. You know, make it a tradition.” Felicity smiled at him, then turned to William. “Will?”

“Yeah, I think that’s okay.” He thought for a minute. “For a boy, I really like the name John or Stephen or Tom. I knew a guy who was called Bryce and he was an idiot, so I hope you won’t choose that.” William said making a face.

“Okay, no Bryce.” Felicity assured him. “I have to admit I thought about John as a second name. You know, Digg has always been important in our lives and I thought we should honor him somehow.”

Oliver smiled. “I like that. Buddy?”

“Awesome!”

They laughed at his excitement. When they calmed again, Felicity took the courage and faced Oliver.

“I also thought that maybe you wanted to call him Thomas, in honor of Tommy.”

Oliver’s intake of breath told her that he thought about it too, but probably didn’t want to force her to choose that.

“Who is Tommy?” William asked.

The couple looked at each other and Felicity nodded encouragingly at him.

“Tommy was my best friend and Thea’s other half-brother.” He proceeded to tell him part of the story of their lives, things they did together and funny anecdotes.

“He sounds like a funny guy.”

“He was.” A nostalgic look on Oliver’s face.

After a minute William said “I think I like Tommy for a name. It’s like Tom, but more… cute.”

“You really think that?”

“Yeah.”

In that moment Felicity’s phone beeped, indicating a new message. She opened it and smiled.

“I guess Thea said yes.” She turned the phone to Oliver and showed him the picture of Thea’s left hand wearing the ring, next to it the words ‘ _OH. MY. GOD._ ’ and he smiled too.

She showed the picture to William and said “Your aunt and Roy will get married.”

He looked at the picture and smiled. “Cool.”

They replied to Thea congratulating them, saying they couldn’t wait for their big day.

“So, back to the names… For a boy I vote Thomas John Queen.” William said.

“I think it’s perfect.” Felicity said smiling at Oliver.

Then William’s face became unsure. “Or Smoak. It depends on which one you’re going to use.”

Oliver and Felicity looked at each other. They knew the last name might be a problem they had to face sooner or later.

“Buddy… I know this may be confusing for you, but you need to tell us if giving the Queen’s name to this baby will bother you. I mean, we wanted- we tried to, uh…”

Seeing Oliver struggling, Felicity grabbed his hand to give him support.

“What your dad is trying to say is that we wanted to talk to you about your last name. We tried a few times, but we didn’t know how you’d react or how to approach the subject. And we didn’t want to make it look like we were trying to get rid of the Clayton’s name, because we’re not doing that, I promise.” She was quick to add.

Taking a deep breath Oliver said it. “We wanted to ask if you’d like to become William Clayton Queen.”

William’s eyes widened in surprise. “I can become a Queen and still be a Clayton?”

Felicity grabbed his hand. “Of course you can, sweetheart.”

"And you won't become a Queen, you already are." Oliver added.

He was still and silent for ten seconds, then he threw himself at them, hugging them tightly.

“I wanted to ask that too, but I was afraid I had to give up my mom’s name.”

“No, son. You can have the both of them if that’s what you want.”

He nodded vigorously. “Yes, I want that.”

They both relaxed at his words.

“Was it one of the things you said you wanted to talk about?” Oliver asked.

“Yeah.” He pulled away and looked at Felicity. “The other thing is about you.”

“Oh. Okay.” That surprised her a little.

“Before going to prison, dad said he gave you complete legal guardianship over me, or something like that.” William waited for their confirmation.

“Yeah, I still have it.” She said carefully, not really knowing where the conversation was headed.

“I looked it up on the web and found out that legal guardianship is only a temporary thing, that it can be revoked in some circumstances.”

Her heart dropped. This was one of the things she feared the most. “Uh, yeah, it can be revoked.”

“I don’t want this guardianship thing anymore-”

“William!” Oliver’s stern voice filled the room and Felicity couldn’t help the tears that formed in her eyes.

“No, it’s okay, Oliver. If that’s what he wants I-”

“No! NO! Let me finish.” William was fast to say. “I don’t want that because it’s temporary, but… Adoption is permanent. Once it takes place, there’s no way to take it back.”

Now Felicity’s tears ran down her cheeks for another reason. “You want me to adopt you?”

“If you want it... I’d like that, yes.” He confessed shyly and Oliver relaxed again, a smile forming on his lips.

“My mom… She will never come back.” His voice trembled. “I remember what you told me about not replacing her and I’m okay with it, but if someone decides that you shouldn’t have this guardianship… I don’t want them to take you away from me.”

Felicity opened her arms and William went to hug her. “I love you, Will. And I’ll happily adopt you.”

“I love you too, Felicity.”

Seeing the two most important people of his life sharing this moment, Oliver couldn’t help himself and embraced the both of them.

“I’m so proud of you, William. And I promise you, to the both of you, no one and nothing can separate us now. Not some bad guy, nor a piece of paper.” He told them.

“They will never tear us apart.”

→

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it. My first fic ever.
> 
> I have to say, I'm a little emotional right now. For years I wanted to write something, I had so many ideas, but I was worried the language might be a problem. Apparently I was wrong, seeing how no one complained about it!
> 
> I'm sure almost nothing of what I wrote will happen on the show, but that's the fun of it, right?
> 
> What matters though is that I enjoyed writing this story, and I'm so happy and proud that many people enjoyed reading it.
> 
> To all of those who took the time to read it and to leave a comment: thank you, it means a lot to me.
> 
> P.S. I couldn't decide if the baby was going to be boy or girl. Because I'd love to see them calling a girl their little princess, but at the same time I'd like for them to use Tommy's and John's names, so... Yeah.


End file.
